SPARKS WIN IN WNBA RETURN

Nneka Ogwumike scored 21 points, Seimone Augustus added 14 and the Los Angeles Sparks used a big third quarter to beat the Phoenix Mercury 99-75 on Saturday in the season opener for both teams.

The 2020 WNBA season, delayed and shortened by the coronavirus pandemic, will be played in a bubble at the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla.

Oguwmike and Augustus combined to make all 14 of their shots. Augustus was playing her first game with Los Angeles after signing as a free agent from Minnesota in the offseason.

Chelsea Gray and Candace Parker had 13 points apiece.

Diana Taurasi, who missed most of last season with back and hamstring injuries, led Phoenix with 16 points, Skylar Digginssmith added 14 points and six assists.

Los Angeles outscored the Mercury 30-8 in the third quarter to take an 80-54 lead into the fourth. Augustus and Gray had nine points apiece in the period.

More WNBA

Myisha Hines-allen scored a career-high 27 points and grabbed 10 rebounds and the defending champion Washington Mystics beat the Indiana Fever 101-76. Hinesallen, who came into the game with seven career 3pointers made, hit 3 of 4 from behind the arc.

Breanna Stewart had 18 points, eight rebounds and four steals in her first WNBA game since helping Seattle win the 2018 championship, sending the Storm past the New York Liberty 87-71.

Mixed martial arts

Former UFC middleweight champion Robert

Whittaker earned his first victory in two years, winning a unanimous decision over Darren Till on Fight Island in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Veteran heavyweight Fabricio Werdum finished Alexander Gustafsson

by armbar submission midway through the first round, and Mauricio “Shogun” Rua

got an entertaining split-decision victory over fellow Brazilian veteran Antonio Rogerio Nogueira in the last of four UFC shows in two weeks from the mixed martial arts promotion’s fan-free bubble in the Middle East.

Motorsports

Brandon Jones came roaring around the outside of Austin Cindric on the second attempt at a green-whitecheckered finish, then won the race to the finish line to win his second consecutive Xfinity Series race at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City, Kan. It was the second win of the season for the 23-year-old Jones, and it kept Cindric from matching Sam Ard’s series record by winning his fourth straight race. Cindric wound up leading 131 of 175 laps in an otherwise dominant performance.

Matt Crafton won his first race in three years when the three-time and reigning Trucks Series champion held off Christian Eckes over the final 20 laps to win the second race of a doubleheader at Kansas Speedway.

Death

Maurice Petty, part of a stock car racing dynasty that includes father Lee and brother Richard and the first engine builder to be inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame, died. He was 81. Petty’s family did not disclose the cause of death. No funeral arrangements have been announced.

Soccer

Tesho Akindele scored in the 60th minute and Orlando

City advanced to the quarterfinals of the MLS is Back tournament with a 1-0 victory over the Montreal Impact at Lake Buena Vista, Fla. In the late game, Philadelphia beat New England 1-0.

Inter Milan kept alive its slim title hopes by beating relegation-threatened Genoa 3-0 in Serie A. The Nerazzurri also moved a point above Atalanta and four above Lazio in the race for second spot. There are two rounds remaining after this weekend.

Paris Saint-germain star Kylian Mbappe has less than three weeks to recover from a heavily sprained ankle in order to face Atalanta in the Champions League quarterfinals.

NHL

Chicago Blackhawks goaltender Corey Crawford practiced after he missed the start of training camp following a positive COVID-19 test. The 35-year-old Crawford said he was in quarantine at his place in Chicago.

Carolina Hurricanes Allstar defenseman Dougie Hamilton missed a second straight practice, and his status remains unclear as the team prepares for the return to play in the coming week.

Washington backup goaltender Ilya Samsonov sustained an injury before the resumption of the 2019-20 NHL season and will not travel with the Capitals to Toronto today, the team said.

Also

Enable captured an unprecedented third win in the King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Ascot, England, after one of British horse racing’s top events started with the smallest field in its history. Only three horses were in the running for the race and Aidan O’brien’s pair, Japan and Sovereign, couldn’t keep up with their superstar rival ridden by Frankie Dettori.

Nneka Ogwumike