LOS ANGELES – Nneka Ogwumike had 24 points and 16 rebounds and Candace Parker added 18 points to help the Los Angeles Sparks beat the San Antonio Silver Stars 93-66 on Saturday and extend their regular season home winning streak to 18 games.
The Silver Stars also lost star Becky Hammon to a knee injury in the second quarter. The seven-time All-Star, who was playing in her first game of the season after missing the first 10 with a broken finger on her shooting hand, went down near the baseline with 6:14 left in the second quarter. She was carried off the court and didn't return.
Lindsey Harding added 14 points and A'dia Mathies and Kristi Toliver each had 12 for the Sparks (8-4), who pulled even with the Minnesota Lynx and Phoenix Mercury for first place in the Western Conference. Los Angeles improved to 8-0 at home this season and will go for its first road victory Thursday.
San Antonio used an 11-1 run to close to 55-44 on Danielle Robinson's drive before Parker scored the next six points. Parker also got a block and a rebound during the sequence and fed Harding for a layup to give L.A. a 65-45 lead after three quarters.
DeLisha Milton-Jones scored 20 points to lead the Silver Stars (3-8), who lost for the seventh time in eight games.
San Antonio, which only dressed eight players in its previous game, also returned center Jayne Appel, who had been out since June 11 because of a concussion and Shenise Johnson from a knee injury. But L.A. outscored San Antonio 50-26 in the paint and held the Silver Stars to 36 percent shooting.
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