Sparks overcome slow start, earn third straight win

After falling behind big early, the Sparks bounced back on Tuesday against the Mystics to extend their winning streak to three games.

The Sparks carried over their strong play from before the All-Star break into Tuesday’s return to the court as they earned a big road win over the Mystics, 93-86. After closing the first half of the season with consecutive wins, LA opened the second half of the season with a victory as well

Rickea Jackson carried over her strong play across the All-Star break, scoring 22 points with a quartet of 3-pointers. Dearica Hamby finished with 24 points on 9-13 shooting to go with 14 rebounds.

Azurá Stevens tallied 15 points on 6-11 shooting. Kelsey Plum had a quieter night, finishing with just 11 points and seven assists.

As a team, the Sparks shot 35-68 from the field and knocked down 13 long-range efforts, helping them overcome the Mystics shooting 25 free throws to LA’s 14.

It was far from an ideal start for the Sparks, who very quickly fell behind by double digits. Washington hit six of their first eight shots and jumped ahead 12-2 four minutes into the game.

A timeout from LA did nothing to slow Washington down as they scored six of the next seven points out of the break, pushing the lead to 18-3. Eventually, the Sparks finally started scoring, but still went into the second quarter trailing 26-16.

The second quarter was much kinder to the Sparks as the defensive stops started piling up. A layup from Hamby, a Sarah Ashlee Barker 3-pointer and a jumper from Rae Burrell accounted for a 7-0 run that pulled them within four at 27-23, forcing a Washington timeout.

From there, the Sparks kept pace with the Mystics, eventually pulling within a single point on a Hamby layup with just over three minutes remaining. A steal from Stevens led to a fastbreak layup to give LA a one-point lead, its first of the game.

A 3-pointer by Burrell and a nifty finish on a fastbreak layup preceded a putback layup from Stevens to push the lead to its largest at seven and allowed the Sparks to head into the locker room up by five at the half.

The third quarter started much like the first as an early Plum 3-pointer pushed the advantage up to 48-40.

Just as everything was rolling smoothly, Plum turned her ankle while contesting a Mystics 3-pointer, forcing her out of the game. With Plum on the bench, Washington chipped away at the deficit, pulling within two on an 8-0 run.

A pair of Jackson 3-pointers helped restore the advantage to seven and give the Sparks breathing room once more. After having her ankle re-taped on the bench, Plum returned to the court and knocked down a 3-pointer to help LA keep the lead.

Still, a flurry of baskets at the end of the period drew the Mystics level at 67 apiece heading into the final frame.

Washington opened the fourth with the first four points, extending their run to 9-0. Hamby stopped that with a layup. Another corner 3-pointer from Jackson restored the Sparks’ advantage.

Fouls from both teams ground the game to a halt and took much of the momentum out of the contest. Still, the Sparks remained ahead throughout, keeping Washington at bay throughout the middle stages of the quarter.

A steal from Hamby turned into a layup on the other end, putting the Sparks up seven with three minutes remaining in the frame. Jackson then knocked down a 3-pointer as the advantage reached double figures once more.

The Sparks put the finishing touches on the win with a 3-pointer from Plum off an offensive rebound, making it a 93-80 lead with under a minute remaining.

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