The Los Angeles Sparks won their season opener and game one of the Curt Miller era, defeating the Phoenix Mercury 94-71.
Nneka Ogwumike was the brightest star in a city filled with them, finishing the night with a team-high 17 points and four rebounds, and Zia Cooke had as good of a debut as anyone could have expected with 14 points on 5-of-6 shooting.
It may have been an L.A. home game, but fans made it clear how much they missed Brittney Griner. She was greeted with thunderous applause when she was announced and the crowd cheered during her first baskets.
Griner played like she never left, starting the first quarter with four points, four rebounds and two blocks. She ended her night with 18 points, six rebounds and four blocks.
L.A. couldn’t get anything going offensively during the first five minutes, going 2-of-12 from the field, but suddenly shots started to fall for 3-point shooters Lexie Brown and Karlie Samuelson. An 11-point deficit shriveled down to just three by the end of the first quarter.
Cooke took advantage of her opportunities in the second quarter. She drove to the rim and converted on a tough layup while being fouled. Upon scoring the basket, she pumped her fist in the air in celebration of registering her first professional points. She scored all…
