The Sparks end the season with a blowout 103-75 loss to the red-hot Las Vegas Aces on Thursday.
Kelsey Plum ended with 15 points and eight assists. Dearica Hamby had 15 points with six rebounds. Azurá Stevens pitched in with five points and 12 rebounds. Sarah Ashlee Barker scored a career-high 15 points.
Alissa Pili notched seven points. Rae Burrell reached double figures as well with 10 points.
Cameron Brink left the game at the 5:47 mark in the second quarter with a bloody nose. She ended with two
points and two rebounds. Rickea Jackson (right lower leg) and Julie Allemand (left ankle) were out for the game.
Hamby scored a quick four points for the Sparks, but the Aces immediately jumped on the Sparks thereafter.
Jackie Young and Jewel Loyd scored a combined 12 points for the Aces. LA took a timeout, and after the break, Plum converted on a layup.
Las Vegas was completely on fire offensively, shooting 57% from the field. The Sparks were shooting 40%. Young entered double figures with 12 points. At the end of the first, the purple and gold were down by 16.
The second quarter started successfully for LA with five combined points from Barker and Plum. Things then went haywire again with Chelsea Gray scoring seven points. Stevens added some scoring for Los Angeles with five points.
But there was not much good to say about the rest of the half for the Sparks as they were down by 19 at halftime.
Disaster continued into the third quarter with A’ja Wilson, who had a slow first half, coming alive offensively with 12 points. One positive for LA was Barker, who was having a nice game off the bench with 10 points.
Pili was subbed in and scored her first field goal as a Spark with a layup. She also picked up a nice block on Wilson before converting on a three-point play.
Los Angeles was able to cut the once 26-point Vegas lead to 19 at the end of the third. Barker continued to impress with an impressive showing, upping her point total to 13 points with a buzzer-beating 3-pointer.
The final frame began with Pili scoring on a layup. Aaliyah Nye answered with a 3-pointer. After a layup from Plum, the Aces called a timeout. It was a 19-point game. Out of the break, Gray drained a 3-pointer.
Las Vegas turned up the heat again and denied LA any chance of making the smallest of comebacks. A 3-pointer by Wilson late in the game gave the Aces 20 long-range makes on the night, breaking the single-game league record.
With 3:28 left and the game completely out of reach, Hamby, Plum, and Stevens exited the game.
Key Takeaways:
Despite not making the playoffs, the Sparks ended the season with 21 wins. That’s 13 more wins than last season’s brutal eight. The future is bright for this team. They have a lot to be proud of and look forward to.
You can follow Karin on Twitter at @KarinAbcarians.
