For Ogwumikes, rivalry begins with ambition

Awesome story on Nneka and Chiney Ogwumike:

“I don’t use the term leader lightly,” said Rice, who was Chiney’s faculty mentor at Stanford. “Whatever career they find themselves in, they will eventually end up on top of that career. They’re going to be transformative personalities.”

Before the game, both sisters were more eager to talk about a basketball clinic they held Saturday for local girls, rather than the impending rivalry. During family visits to Nigeria, where Ify and her husband, Peter, lived before moving to the United States for college, the sisters decided to prioritize the promotion of sports and education for young girls in Africa.........

Nneka’s bruising interior strength helped the Sparks pull away in the third quarter, as they outscored the Sun, 30-10. Nneka finished with a game-high 24 points, and Chiney led the Sun with 18.
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Chiney also played a game-high 32 minutes. In only 21 professional games, she has established herself as a potential franchise player. Recently, Coach Anne Donovan called Chiney a “very unique, very special” player.

Though Chiney was under her sister’s tutelage as an underclassman at Stanford, Rice said she saw tremendous maturation after Nneka graduated. “Chiney had to carve out her own territory in a place where Nneka was revered,” Rice said, noting that as a senior Chiney received the Sterling Award, one of the university’s top individual honors.

In other news:

The Liberty have signed Natasha Lacy to a seven-day contract. She replaces Chucky Jeffery.