{"id":5688,"date":"2026-05-12T23:02:02","date_gmt":"2026-05-12T23:02:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=5688"},"modified":"2026-05-12T23:02:02","modified_gmt":"2026-05-12T23:02:02","slug":"nneka-ogwumike-says-sparks-defense-is-key-against-caitlin-clark-and-fever","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=5688","title":{"rendered":"Nneka Ogwumike says Sparks\u2019 defense is key against Caitlin Clark and Fever"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

LOS ANGELES \u2014 Sparks forward Nneka Ogwumike knows one thing ahead of Wednesday\u2019s home game against Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever.<\/p>\n

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The 15-year veteran said everyone on her team, including her, must play better defense going forward if they are going to pick up their first win.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know it starts with me,\u201d Ogwumike said. \u201cI think that was probably one of my worst one-on-one defending nights (against Las Vegas), but defense is definitely not something that you guys should be sitting here watching and hoping we get it down by the end of the month. You should see it on Wednesday.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Sparks are coming off a 105-78 blowout loss against the Las Vegas Aces in their season opener Sunday at Crypto.com Arena. They trailed the defending WNBA champions by as many as 32 points and were outscored by a 63-37 margin in the second half.<\/p>\n

Sparks point guard Kelsey Plum scored a team-high 27 points, including 4 of 8 from 3-point range. She echoed Ogwumike\u2019s sentiments.<\/p>\n

\u201cI need to look in the mirror and figure out how to impact winning,\u201d Plum said. \u201cDefensively, we have to be better.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ogwumike, who was drafted by the Sparks with the first overall pick in 2012, recorded a double-double with 19 points and 10 rebounds in her first game back with the Sparks after playing the past two seasons with Seattle.<\/p>\n

The Fever (0-1) are coming off a 107-104 home loss to Dallas on May 9. All-Star guard Kelsey Mitchell scored a team-high 30 points. Center Aliyah Boston scored 29 points. Clark had 20 points, seven assists and five rebounds in her first WNBA regular-season game since July 2025.<\/p>\n

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\n<\/div>\n

The Sparks went 3-1 against Indiana last season. Clark did not play in any of those games due to a lingering groin injury.<\/p>\n

The Sparks will conclude the team\u2019s four-game homestand with consecutive games against the Toronto Tempo, the league\u2019s first international expansion team, on Friday and Sunday.<\/p>\n

The Sparks\u2019 starting lineup scored 71 of the team\u2019s 78 points against Las Vegas. Emma Cannon (3), Ta\u2019Niya Latson (2) and Erica Wheeler (2) were the only reserves in the scoring column.<\/p>\n

Sparks third-year forward Cameron Brink, the franchise\u2019s No. 2 pick in the 2024 draft, was scoreless in eight minutes against the Aces. The 6-foot-4 forward did not attempt or block any shots. She grabbed three rebounds but had three fouls and three turnovers.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

Sparks coach Lynne Roberts said she expects more production from Brink, who missed a majority of her rookie season and the first half of her second season because of a torn ACL.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have so much confidence and belief in her,\u201d Roberts said after Sunday\u2019s defeat. \u201cShe\u2019s got to get out on the floor with some confidence and do what she\u2019s capable of doing, but we\u2019re going to need her.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought, especially in that first half, (the Aces) were having a hard time guarding Nneka,\u201d Roberts continued. \u201cThey made some adjustments in the second half, sending two at her every time she even got close. Part of the beginning of the season too is figuring out rotations and chemistry and all the things. We looked like we didn\u2019t have a lot of floor chemistry out there. Vegas did. They\u2019ve also played together for years, right? That\u2019s not an excuse but that\u2019s just the reality. So, we\u2019re going to need Cam, she\u2019s going to be a big part of our success. I have every bit of belief in her.\u201d<\/p>\n

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INDIANA (0-1) at SPARKS (0-1)<\/h4>\n

When:<\/strong> 7:30 p.m. Wednesday<\/p>\n

Where:<\/strong> Crypto.com Arena<\/p>\n

TV:<\/strong> USA, Spectrum SportsNet<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Coming off a 27-point loss to defending champion Las Vegas in their season opener, the Sparks welcome Indiana and its sharpshooting guard to Crypto.com Arena.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5687,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19,2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5688","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-facts","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nNneka Ogwumike says Sparks\u2019 defense is key against Caitlin Clark and Fever - Silicon Valley Moving Post<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=5688\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Nneka Ogwumike says Sparks\u2019 defense is key against Caitlin Clark and Fever - 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