Valkyries rally past the Sparks 76-75 to secure No. 2 seed and spoil Nneka Ogwumike's final game

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Kaitlyn Chen scored 14 of her 18 points in the fourth quarter, Gabby Williams added eight points in the final 90 seconds, and the Golden State Valkyries closed on a 17-4 run to beat the Los Angeles Sparks 76-75 on Thursday night in the final game for former WNBA MVP Nneka Ogwumike.

Golden State (32-11) secured the No. 2 seed in the WNBA playoffs and will face seventh-seeded Dallas in a first-round series beginning on Sunday.

Ogwumike had 17 points, 15 rebounds and five assists for Los Angeles (16-27) in the final game of her 15-year career. Ogwumike, who announced on Aug. 19 she would retire after this season, and her 19th double-double of the season — and 134th of her career to rank sixth in league history.

Dearica Hamby and Rae Burrell each scored 15 for Los Angeles.

Los Angeles had a 69-57 lead with 4:42 left, but did not make another field goal until the final second.

Williams took over down the stretch. She sank a long 3-pointer with 1:30 remaining and stole the ball at the other end before racing for a fast-break layup to get within 72-70. After a miss by Los Angeles, Williams made a 3-pointer with 20.4 seconds left to go ahead 73-72.

The Sparks had two chances on their next possession before Kiah Stokes secured the defensive rebound. Los Angeles coach Lynne Roberts was called for a technical foul with 10.8 seconds left and Kayla Thornton made the free throw for a 74-72 lead. Thornton added two more free throws with 8.5 left for a 76-72 lead.

Williams finished with 14 points in just 20 minutes for Golden State. Veronica Burton added 17.

Valkyries: Look to improve to 4-0 this season against the Wings on Sunday.

Sparks: Season is over.

___

See AP’s full WNBA coverage here