VIDEO: New York Liberty Head Coach Walt Hopkins along with stars Jocelyn Willoughby and Kia Nurse share these thoughts after the team’s 96-70 loss to the Los Angeles Sparks in WNBA action on 9/8
On Tuesday night, the New York Liberty (2-17) fell to the Los Angeles Sparks (15-5), 96-70.
New York shot 37.9% from the field and 34.3% from beyond the arc.
The Liberty finished with 26 rebounds, 18 assists and 29 bench points. The team’s defense held Los Angeles point guard Chelsea Gray to a season-low 3 points.
Los Angeles’ 26-point win over New York ties the franchises’ largest margin of victory against the Liberty.
Key Runs:
The Los Angeles Sparks opened the game on a 11-3 run in the first 5 minutes of the contest. LA ended the first quarter up, 25-12. Candace Parker scored 8 first quarter points and 4 rebounds on perfect shooting from the field (3-3) and the free throw line (2-2).
New York cut a 20-point first half deficit to only 11 going into the locker room down 42-31 thanks to an 8-0 run. The Liberty outscored the Sparks 19-17 in the second quarter. Jocelyn Willoughby scored 13 first-half points on 5-6 shooting from the field and 3-3 from beyond the arc.
Third quarter scoring rolled in slowly, however LA got out on a 12-6 run with 5:43 remaining. The Sparks scored 26 third quarter points while the Liberty scored 15 and entered the final frame down 18 points (68-46).
Los Angeles edged New York in the final 10 minutes of play, 28-24, to secure their 15th win of the 2020 season.
Up Next: The New York Liberty will take on the Indiana Fever on Tuesday, September 7, at 7:00 p.m. ET on CBSSN and Fox Sports GO.
PLAYER NOTABLES
In her fourth career start, Jocelyn Willoughby totaled a game and career-high 21 points, shooting 87.5% (7-8) from the field and a perfect 5-5 from beyond the arc.
Kia Nurse recorded 13 points and grabbed 7 rebounds which ties her season-high on the glass.
Paris Kea added 11 points in 14:48 minutes off the bench on 60.0% (3-5) shooting from deep.
Megan Walker tied her career-high 8 points off of the Liberty bench against the Sparks.
Kiah Stokes secured a team-high 8 boards while matching a career-best 4 assists.
Nneka Ogwumike led the Sparks’ offense tonight with 20 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists.
Riquna Williams also totaled 20 points over 32:47 minutes off the bench for LA, while Candace Parker finished with a balanced stat line of 14 points, 7 assists and 5 rebounds.
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