Despite a frantic fourth quarter rally from the Sun, the Sparks snapped their losing streak on Saturday, downing Connecticut, 77-68.
LA led by as many as 22 points in the final frame, but allowed the Sun to close within single digits in the final minute. The Sparks did not score for the final 6:12 of the contest.
However, more than anything, time ran out for Connecticut, allowing the Sparks to survive the comeback attempt.
The bench put in a valiant effort, scoring 19 points. Los Angeles ended the game
going 8-18 from behind the arc and shooting 51% from the field. They won the fastbreak points battle 13-2.
LA got off to a nice start offensively, taking an early four-point lead. Leila Lacan quickly cut into that lead with a triple. Rae Burrell was cooking for Los Angeles, scoring six points, while Nneka Ogwumike was close behind with five. Lacan was leading Connecticut with seven points.
At the 5:23 mark, Los Angeles was up by nine.
The Sparks were shooting a fiery 76% from the field and 40% from behind the arc. Cameron Brink provided a spark off the bench, scoring five points. Diamond Miller knocked down a three that brought her to five points in the quarter for Connecticut.
Unfortunately, Brink picked up her third foul with 49 seconds left in the first. Going into the second quarter, LA was up by 10 after Emma Cannon drained a triple.
Tonie Morgan converted on a layup to start the second period. Both teams struggled from the field, missing eight shots each. Still, the Sparks grew their lead to 18 with five minutes left.
Burrell and Ariel Atkins combined for four points, helping extend the lead.
LA shot 27% from the field, while Connecticut was shooting 20%. Burrell was the first Spark in double figures with 11 points. Nneka was still close behind with seven points.
With 2:32 left, Los Angeles was up by 14.
The Sparks saw themselves up by only eight after allowing the Sun to go on an 11-1 scoring run to close the half.
Burrell was first to score for LA in the third period. She converted on a layup that put Los Angeles back up by double figures. The game shifted back in favor of the Sparks as they went on a 9-1 scoring run to extend their lead to 17.
Nneka now had nine points, and Wheeler had eight.
Connecticut called a timeout to stop the bleeding. Out of the break, they still couldn’t score. Both teams went on a stretch with turnovers and fouls until Gianna Kneepkens put some points on the board for the Sun with a midrange jumper.
After Connecticut tried to mount a comeback, Los Angeles scored seven in a row to end the third with a 20-point lead.
Raegan Beers was fouled to start the final frame and converted on one of two free throws for the Sun. She also scored on a layup, putting up solid minutes early in the quarter.
She was also involved in the quarter’s biggest drama when Hamby, after an official review, was assessed a flagrant-2 foul and ejected after hitting Beers in the face, sending her to the locker room injured as well.
The Sun scored four in a row after the ejection. Chance Gray responded by draining a 3-pointer for LA. That jump-started the offense and helped push Los Angeles’ lead to 22 with 6:12 left, the largest lead of the season.
Connecticut surged on an 11-0 run, halving the deficit with 2:29 left. Saniya Rivers extended the Suns’ run to 13-0, but the Sun could not find enough points late despite LA’s cold spell to end the contest.
Key Player Stats
Burrell finished with 20 points on 8-13 shooting. Nneka ended with 11 points and 11 rebounds. Hamby logged 10 points with five rebounds prior to her ejection.
Wheeler had 11 points and five assists. Brink added seven points off the bench, but did commit four turnovers and fouled out in 12 minutes. Atkins scored six points with seven rebounds and three assists. Gray notched five points.
The Sparks’ next game is against the Atlanta Dream on Monday at 7:00 PM PT.
You can follow Karin on Twitter at @KarinAbcarians.
