Strong first and third quarters from the Sparks on Friday allowed them to survive a frantic rally from the Wings to hang on for a 97-96 win.
Dearica Hamby ended with 20 points, 10 rebounds and four assists. Kelsey Plum had 28 points with five assists. Rickea Jackson pitched in with 15 points, five rebounds and two assists.
Azurá Stevens scored 15 points and grabbed seven rebounds. Rae Burrell had four points and two steals. Julie Allemand continued being an assist machine with nine assists while scoring
10 of her 12 points in the third period.
Cameron Brink, who did not play in the second half of Tuesday’s loss to the Liberty, returned to the floor, notching three points and seven rebounds.
LA started hot with Dearica scoring four of the first seven points for the team. The Sparks had gone up by nine before Dallas responded with a quick 7-0 run to make it a two-point game.
Dearica was in double figures with 10 points just past the midway point of the first quarter, but Dallas’s Paige Bueckers already had six points to answer.
Azurá converted on a layup to stop some of the momentum the Wings had built. Rickea and Kelsey combined for four of the seven makes LA had taken from behind the arc.
Former Spark Li Yueru had a few blocks and drained a 3-pointer against her old team. The purple and gold were up by five at the end of the first.
Dallas tied the game early in the second quarter behind a quick four points from Diamond Miller. Rae was subbed in for LA and had an immediate impact with a layup.
The Wings had 14 points off the bench to Los Angeles’ two with half the quarter in the books.
Dallas had gone three minutes without scoring until Aziaha James converted on a layup. Rickea and Azurá both knocked down a pair of 3-pointers.
Bueckers had remained quiet for most of the quarter until the final two minutes, when she entered double figures with 15 points. The Wings ended the half on an 8-0 run cutting LA’s lead to three at halftime.
Hailey Jones opened the third quarter by draining a 3-pointer to add to Dallas’ scoring run. The momentum the Wings had built was halted fast by Allemand draining two 3-pointers in a row.
Everything was clicking for the Sparks, who were outscoring the Wings 13-7 in the quarter.
Bueckers scored five straight points to push her point total to 20. LA responded well with four quick points of their own, making it a nine-point lead with 4:26 left until the fourth quarter.
The rest of the quarter belonged to Los Angeles, with each of the starters contributing to the lead. At the end of the third, the Sparks were up by 12. Allemand scored all 10 of her points in that quarter.
LA extended their lead to 15 to start the final frame. Maddy Siegrist had all five of the first points Dallas scored. The Wings were determined to make a comeback, cutting Los Angeles’ lead to single digits.
Kelsey played aggressively, scoring four points. Bueckers surged for four points as well. It was James who was keeping it close for the Wings with four quick points of her own.
After a break, Bueckers converted on a three-point play. It was a 9-0 run for Dallas to make it a three-point game with 1:33 left.
Kelsey broke a four-minute scoring drought for Los Angeles with a layup. Bueckers responded with a layup. Once more, LA couldn’t score, and on the other end, JJ Quinerly drained a 3-pointer, making it a one-point game with 20 seconds left.
After Kelsey missed two free throws, she grabbed the rebound, but Dallas tied her up for a jump ball. Dallas won the tip and Bueckers had a look from three to win the game, but she missed, LA grabbed the rebound and escaped with the win.
Key Takeaways:
Allemand’s solid contributions have been huge for this team’s success. She had her second double-double of the season.
LA made it out alive in this one, but losing steam in the fourth made this an unnecessarily dramatic near loss.
The Sparks’ next game will be Sunday against the Washington Mystics at 12:00 PM PT.You can follow Karin on Twitter at @KarinAbcarians.
