Sparks squander late lead

NEW YORK — Sabrina Ionescu scored eight of her 20 points in the final 2:18 and the Liberty rallied from a 15point deficit in the third quarter to beat the Sparks 64-61 on Wednesday night.

The Liberty (13-18) earned two wins over the Sparks (12-19) in the span of 24 hours, sweeping the backto-back set. New York had a much tougher time than its 102-73 victory a night earlier to stay in the playoff hunt.

Trailing 50-35 with 5:23 left in the third quarter, New York held the Sparks scoreless for the rest of the period to cut its deficit to five.

Nneka Ogwumike scored 19 points to lead the Sparks.