Sparks' Ogwumike tears up in postgame retirement ceremony

LOS ANGELES -- 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, posted her 19th double-double of the season and 134th of her career, which ranks sixth in league history.

The Sparks held an emotional retirement ceremony for Ogwumike after the game. Ever the competitor, she opened her remarks to the crowd by addressing a crucial free throw she missed late in the game.

"I just gotta get this out of the way: I should've made that free throw," she said. "And I should've made the putback a couple possessions before that. You guys know me. I wanted that for you guys, I wanted that for my teammates. But I wouldn't go down any other way, which is competing hard here in L.A. against some great competition."

Ogwumike was overcome with emotion when the Sparks announced in the ceremony that a player sanctuary in its new practice facility would be named after her.

"This is goodbye, not forever, but I'm always gonna be your L.A. Spark, so I love you guys," she said.

The No. 1 overall pick in 2012, Ogwumike was an eight-time All-WNBA selection and won league MVP honors and a championship in 2016. 

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.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.