With a chance to move up into playoff positioning, the Sparks faltered against the Mercury. While a late rally made it a close game, LA had dug a hole too big to crawl out of as they fell to Phoenix 92-84.
Rickea Jackson ended with 21 points on 7-11 shooting. Dearica Hamby had 25 points, eight rebounds and five steals. Kelsey Plum pitched in with 20 points and four assists
Cameron Brink scored four with five rebounds and a block in 14 minutes. Azurá Stevens had a rare off game offensively with just
three points. Rae Burrell sparked the run in the final seconds and finished with nine points and four rebounds.
It was a slow start offensively with both teams combining for just 13 points through the first three minutes. Once things eventually picked up, Dearica and Rickea led the way with the scoring, the former having six points and the latter notching five.
Satou Sabally was lighting it up for the Mercury with 10 points. Rickea knocked down her second 3-pointer of the quarter and Kelsey got on the scoreboard with a layup to keep the Sparks ticking.
Los Angeles tightened their defensive play, forcing Phoenix into sloppy play as they turned the ball over five times. Rickea was the first Spark in double figures with 10 points.
L.A. ended the quarter shooting 35% from the field and was down six heading into the second period.
The first points of the second quarter came from Rae Burrell stealing the ball and converting on a fastbreak layup on the other end. Los Angeles’s defense was sparking a strong start in the frame.
Dearica scored five points straight, the majority of those on a three-point play after a steal.
Phoenix answered back with DeWanna Bonner draining a 3-pointer. The Sparks lost some steam, leading to the Mercury scoring nine points to put them up by eight with 4:27 left in the half.
Kelsey scored a much-needed 3-pointer for LA and Rickea converted on three-point play, but Kaleah Copper helped keep Phoenix ahead as she moved up to 10 points in the opening half.
Cam played a productive half with four points and three rebounds. Los Angeles did great holding Phoenix’s Alyssa Thomas to just one point, but she did have 10 dimes.
Unfortunately, the Sparks couldn’t hold onto the momentum they were building, allowing the Mercury to go up by eight at halftime.
Thomas opened the second half with another assist to Copper for a layup to extend Phoenix’s lead to 10. Los Angeles woke up their offense soon after. Dearica converted on a layup.
Rickea knocked down two more 3-pointers, cutting the deficit to four.
LA had picked up its defense, forcing the Mercury to work hard for shots.
Despite that good defense, they did have breakdowns, one of which led to a 3-pointer from Sabally. Phoenix then started heating up again offensively, scoring six straight points.
Kelsey knocked down a much-needed 3-pointer for the Sparks. LA was forced to call a timeout as the lead ballooned to 11 for the Mercury.
With 40 seconds left, Rickea went down with an ankle injury. She walked on her own weight to the locker room.
The purple and gold did not score again after the injury and trailed by 11 heading into the fourth.
The final frame began poorly for the Sparks. Sami Whitcomb drained two 3-pointers and Bonner converted on a layup to extend the lead to 16 for the Mercury.
Burrell’s infectious energy helped Los Angeles pick up its collective spirit for a potential comeback.
Rickea had returned to the bench and checked back into the game at the 5:51 mark to add a mental boost. However, the game was quickly getting away from the Sparks as they couldn’t put together a run or get a stop.
Thomas notched her seventh triple double of the season late in the fourth, a single-season WNBA record. At the 1:15 mark, Bonner drained a stepback 3-pointer that essentially sealed the win for Phoenix.
Rae sparked a small run in the closing seconds of the game, making it as close as six, but they couldn’t pull off the miracle.
Key Takeaways:
Every game is crucial for LA to make a last-minute push into the playoffs. They have to play nearly perfect. They need to play great defense from the first quarter to the fourth. The scoring will come.
Los Angeles needs, at the very least, one more major scorer off the bench to help overcome games like these when they lose steam.
The Sparks’ next game will be Friday against the Indiana Fever at 7:00 PM PT.You can follow Karin on Twitter at @KarinAbcarians.
