Lynx honor Augustus but fall to Ogwumike, Sparks 85-83

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Nneka Ogwumike’s putback of her own miss with 7.3 seconds left lifted the Los Angeles Sparks to an 85-83 win over the Minnesota Lynx on Sunday.

Rachel Banham’s jumper with 26.6 seconds to go pulled Minnesota even for just the second time. The game was also tied at 65 after the Lynx erased a 17-point first-half deficit.

Ogwumike finished with 16 points. Chennedy Carter led the Sparks (4-6), who had lost six of seven, with 20 points. Liz Cambage added 15 points and Katie Lou Samuelson 13.

With Ogwumike and Cambage both making 6 of 10 shots, the Sparks shot 52%.

The Lynx (2-7), who retired Seimone Augustus’ No. 33 jersey before the game, were led by Kayla McBride with 19 points but her last-second jumped went off the rim.

Sylvia Fowles and Aerial Powers both had 15 points but Fowles fouled out with 6:11 to play. Moriah Jefferson added 11 points.

Augustus was a key player on Minnesota’s four WNBA championship teams. The No. 1 overall pick out of LSU in the 2006 draft played 14 seasons with the Lynx before spending one year with Los Angeles, where she is now an assistant coach. She retired as the No. 10 scorer in league history with 6,005 points.

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