Kelsey Plum dominates in Sparks win over Sun

The Sparks extend their winning streak to four games with a victory over the Sun.

The Sparks cruised to a 101–86 blowout win over the Connecticut Sun.

Kelsey Plum was magnificent, scoring 30 points, her second-highest scoring total of the season.

She also had two rebounds, six assists and two steals in the win. She went 4-7 from behind the arc, shooting 57%. Dearica Hamby had 20 points, 11 rebounds and two assists. Azurá Stevens pitched in with 17 points, eight rebounds, four assists, two steals and three blocks.

Julie Vanloo had nine points off the bench. Julie Allemand scored 12 points to go with her eight rebounds, four assists and two steals.

Los Angeles has now won four straight games, their longest win streak since 2023.

It was a strong start for both teams as they exchanged the lead a few times early on. Kelsey was leading the Sparks with six points, and Tina Charles was leading the Sun with seven points.

After cutting the deficit from six to three, Los Angeles then allowed Connecticut to extend their lead back to five.

Dearica scored four straight points to make it a one-point game. After once again exchanging the lead back and forth between the teams, the Sun began to gain offensive momentum.

Connecticut scored six straight points off two 3-pointers. There were 11 lead changes in the quarter. At the end of the first, the purple and gold were down by five.

Los Angeles started the second quarter on a 10-0 scoring run, while Connecticut went three minutes without any points. Charles converted on a stepback jumper for the Sun to stop their bleeding. Azurá drained her second 3-pointer of the half.

Bria Hartley was cooking for the Sun with 12 points and was two of three from behind the arc. L.A. was shooting at 51% from the field, while Connecticut shot 41% overall

With 2:49 left, the Sparks were nursing a five-point lead. Olivia Nelson-Ododa put up six points as the half was winding down. Los Angeles was shooting a rough 36% from the free throw line. At halftime, the Sparks were only up by one.

The Sun took an early lead, but the Sparks’ big three of Kelsey, Azurá, and Dearica all scored to help keep Los Angeles ahead.

Kelsey was taking over the quarter, scoring eight points. Allemand pitched in four points. At the 5:17 mark, the Sparks held their biggest lead of the night so far, at nine points.

Dearica was having a brutal night at the free throw line, with just two out of nine made. As a team, L.A. was nine out of 20 from the line. Allemand continued her great quarter, pushing her point total to nine.

Emma Cannon saw some playing time and contributed with a wide-open layup. At the end of the third, the Sparks were up nine.

Charles converted on yet another one of her usual fadeaway shots for the Sun to start the final frame. Kelsey picked up her fifth foul at the 7:26 mark. However, she made up for that by draining a big-time 3-pointer to extend the Sparks’ lead. It was her fourth of the night, completely dominating from behind the arc.

The game turned into a blowout with Los Angeles going up by 20. At the 2:43 mark, L.A. emptied its bench.

Key Takeaways:

Kelsey has been shooting over 50% from behind the arc in these victories. It’s been a huge reason why this team is starting to rack up the wins.

Turnovers are still an issue; they had 15 tonight. They also shot 63% from the free-throw line; things to clean up for the future.

The Sparks’ next game will be Saturday against the New York Liberty at 4:00 PM PT.

You can follow Karin on Twitter at @KarinAbcarians.