Preview: Sparks (8-0) at Wings (3-5)
Date: June 11, 2016 8:30 PM EDT
The Los Angeles Sparks will try to tie their franchise record for most consecutive wins to start a season when they play at the Dallas Wings on Saturday night.
The Sparks (8-0) started 9-0 in 2001 and 2003.
Dallas (3-5) has lost three consecutive games and is 1-3 at home at College Park Center in Arlington, Texas, but the Wings have regained the services of forward Glory Johnson, who played her first game since August 2014 on Wednesday night. This will be the first meeting of the season between the teams.
The Sparks rely on the all-around game of center Candace Parker, a three-time WNBA All-Star. She is averaging a team-high 16.8 points per game, leads in assists at 4.1 per game and is second in rebounding at 6.9. She has made 14 of 31 3-point attempts.
Forward Nneka Ogwumike has been a force, averaging 15.6 points and 8.8 rebounds.
"We have to guard them all the way through," Wings coach Fred Williams said. "Candace Parker is a player who can develop a lot of things in the open floor. We just have to try to contain their fast break situations."
The Wings likely will also need to lean on their 3-point shooting to stop the Sparks from getting closer to the league record of 10 consecutive wins to start the season, set by 2012 Minnesota. Dallas attempts more shots from behind the arc than any team in the WNBA (22.8), although it makes only 30.8 percent. The Sparks shoot a league-high 41.8 percent.
Johnson scored 15 points in her return from suspension, stemming from a domestic incident with Phoenix Mercury center Brittney Griner, to whom she was briefly married. Griner served her suspension last season, but Johnson had to wait because she was sidelined last season while pregnant with twins.
Forward Aerial Powers, a rookie from Michigan State, has led the Wings in scoring in each of the past two games, with 23 at Minnesota and 17 vs. Washington. Guard Odyssey Sims is averaging a team-high 15.0 points per game but has hit only 5 of 28 shots in the past two games
Date: June 11, 2016 8:30 PM EDT
The Los Angeles Sparks will try to tie their franchise record for most consecutive wins to start a season when they play at the Dallas Wings on Saturday night.
The Sparks (8-0) started 9-0 in 2001 and 2003.
Dallas (3-5) has lost three consecutive games and is 1-3 at home at College Park Center in Arlington, Texas, but the Wings have regained the services of forward Glory Johnson, who played her first game since August 2014 on Wednesday night. This will be the first meeting of the season between the teams.
The Sparks rely on the all-around game of center Candace Parker, a three-time WNBA All-Star. She is averaging a team-high 16.8 points per game, leads in assists at 4.1 per game and is second in rebounding at 6.9. She has made 14 of 31 3-point attempts.
Forward Nneka Ogwumike has been a force, averaging 15.6 points and 8.8 rebounds.
"We have to guard them all the way through," Wings coach Fred Williams said. "Candace Parker is a player who can develop a lot of things in the open floor. We just have to try to contain their fast break situations."
The Wings likely will also need to lean on their 3-point shooting to stop the Sparks from getting closer to the league record of 10 consecutive wins to start the season, set by 2012 Minnesota. Dallas attempts more shots from behind the arc than any team in the WNBA (22.8), although it makes only 30.8 percent. The Sparks shoot a league-high 41.8 percent.
Johnson scored 15 points in her return from suspension, stemming from a domestic incident with Phoenix Mercury center Brittney Griner, to whom she was briefly married. Griner served her suspension last season, but Johnson had to wait because she was sidelined last season while pregnant with twins.
Forward Aerial Powers, a rookie from Michigan State, has led the Wings in scoring in each of the past two games, with 23 at Minnesota and 17 vs. Washington. Guard Odyssey Sims is averaging a team-high 15.0 points per game but has hit only 5 of 28 shots in the past two games
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