Sparks edge out Sun in a tight game down the stretch

The Sparks earned a hard-fought win over the Sun on Sunday afternoon.

Things got tight in the fourth, but the Sparks managed to beat the Sun 92–88. This is just their second win at home for the season.

Los Angeles had four out of five Sparks starters score in double digits.

Rickea Jackson ended with 19 points, six rebounds, four assists and two blocks. Dearica Hamby scored 17 points to go with her seven rebounds, four assists and two steals.

Azurá Stevens pitched in with 21 points, 11 rebounds and two steals. Kelsey Plum had 23 points and three assists and two steals.

It was an offense-heavy start for both teams, with the Sparks shooting 54% and the Sun shooting 72%. Jackson was a perfect 3-3 from the field for seven points.

Azurá was up to five points, three of which came from behind the arc. Jacy Sheldon was cooking for Connecticut with six points, missing only one shot attempt.

Kelsey began to heat up, scoring five points. Rickea’s strong start continued as she became the first player for either team to reach double figures. At the end of the first, the purple and gold were down by three.

Azurá started the second quarter with a 3-pointer for the Sparks. It was her second one of the half. Connecticut then went on an 8-1 scoring run to go up by seven. There was a slight uptick in defense, marked by a few deflections and steals. Despite that, Los Angeles still allowed the Sun to score 47 with 2:31 left until halftime.

Dearica added another eight points to her offensive arsenal, joining Rickea as the only two players on the team to score in double digits in this half. On the Sun side, Saniya Rivers was a perfect 4-4 from the field. The Sparks ended the half on a 6-0 run with Rickea scoring four of those points.

At halftime, L.A. had cut the once eight-point deficit down to just two.

The second half began with Azurá torching the Sun with eight straight points. Her scoring surge put the Sparks up by five and forced a Connecticut timeout.

Out of that break, Kelsey took the ball to the hoop on a spin-move for a layup. The Sun eventually found some momentum, scoring five unanswered points.

Kelsey then scored another seven points to put a halt to that run. As the quarter was winding down, Connecticut heated up again with seven straight points, but a free throw and layup from Rae Burrell kept the Sparks up by two at the end of the third.

Rae opened things up in the final frame for Los Angeles with a floater. She was having a great game off the bench with seven points.

Then, L.A. scored nine points off 3-pointers. Azurá had knocked down her fifth of the night. Rivers continued her dominant performance for the Sun with seven points.

With 2:25 left in the game, the Sparks were nursing a very delicate three-point lead. Connecticut seemed to keep having an answer each time L.A. tried to give itself some distance.

Things were extremely tight down the wire as Leila Lacan stole the ball and nearly made it a dangerous play, but Dearica’s defense stopped her from scoring. A pair of free throws from Azurá put the final nail in the coffin.

Key Takeaways:

Azurá should be an All-Star!

The defensive struggles have been tough, but once Cameron Brink returns, she’ll bring a much-needed boost on that end of the floor.

Rae injects a lot of life into the team each time she takes the floor. Her endless effort and energy are essential for the Sparks to have success.

The Sparks’ next game will be Tuesday against the Washington Mystics at 7:00 PM PT.

You can follow Karin on Twitter at @KarinAbcarians.