dearica hamby

It seemed no lead was safe during the Sparks’ matchup against the Mercury on Tuesday night before Phoenix rallied for a 94-87 win at the Galen Center, snapping its three-game losing streak.

The Sparks have lost nine of their past 11 games, but both teams are still fighting for a playoff spot with fewer than a dozen games remaining. Sparks coach Lynne Roberts said pregame that the players know what is at stake during the final stretch of the season.

The Sparks (12-20) sit in 10th place, one spot ahead of the Mercury (13-22) and outside of the eight-team playoff cut line, with 12 games remaining.

Kelsey Plum, who was recently traded from the Sparks to the Mercury, did not play during the first matchup against her former team because of a lower left leg injury.

“There are no gimme games in this league for anybody, whether you are in first or last — every game is hard,” Roberts said.

Dearica Hamby and Rae Burrell led the Sparks with 19 each and Nneka Ogwumike added 18 points and nine rebounds. Cameron Brink finished with seven points and five rebounds off the bench.

After a slow start during a loss to the Golden State Valkyries on Sunday, the Sparks splashed 23 points in the first quarter.

The Sparks claimed a 47-44 halftime lead after a steal by Burrell, which she followed with a crafty reverse layup in the final seconds.

The teams traded the lead throughout the third quarter.

The Sparks pulled ahead in the fourth, but Phoenix tied it 81-81 with 3:33 remaining after a bucket from the Mercury’s top scorer Noémie Brochant.

Brochant led the team with 24 points and five steals, making it difficult for the Sparks to rally.

Ariel Atkins cut the deficit to 90-87 after banking in a three-pointer with 22 seconds remaining, but the Mercury made their free throws and pressured the Sparks’ offense.

The Sparks had difficulty solving problems caused by the Mercury’s zone defense. And dominating the paint for stretches of the game, Hamby had four turnovers, including two in the fourth.

“It was kind of those one-on-one on the inside before they went zone,” Hamby said. “I feel like the second half was every time I went to my move, they were right there and on time with the turnovers.”

Roberts said that she expects to see the same zone defense on Thursday when the Sparks travel to New York to face the Liberty (20-14).

“The ball did not move. We were trying to throw dimes when you need to make the easy play,” Roberts said. “But that’s what zone does, you know? If we had shot better, they probably would have gotten out of it.”

MINNEAPOLIS — Rae Burrell scored 17 points, and Erica Wheeler had four in a game-ending 8-0 run and the Sparks ended Minnesota’s 10-game winning streak, beating the WNBA-leading Lynx 89-82 on Thursday night.

Kayla McBride hit a three-pointer to give Minnesota (25-7) an 82-81 lead, but the Lynx missed their final seven shots and went scoreless over the final 4:53.

Nneka Ogwumike had a go-ahead layup, Wheeler hit a pull-up 10-footer, and Monique Akoa Makani and Wheeler had the final two baskets in the late run for the Sparks (12-18). The Sparks beat the Lynx for the first time in three tries this season.

Dearica Hamby had 16 points and nine rebounds for the Sparks, and Ogwumike had 16 points and seven rebounds. Wheeler had 12 points and nine assists, and Cameron Brink had 12 points.

Rookie Olivia Miles finished with 23 points, eight rebounds and five assists for the Lynx. Napheesa Collier had 21 points, eight rebounds and six assists.

Minnesota led by 11 points in the first quarter before settling for a 22-21 advantage. The Lynx used an 11-0 second-quarter run to lead 48-40 at the break.

Up next for the Sparks: vs. Golden State at Crypto.com Arena on Sunday night.

CHICAGO — So close, and yet so far.

The Sparks couldn’t build off of Sunday’s win Wednesday and dropped to seven games under .500 with a 95-88 loss in Chicago. It aligned with the story of the 2026 Sparks, where being fully competitive has been just out of reach except for a few flashes.

A decent middle of the game was overwhelmed by a bad opening and closing. Chicago scored 33 points in the first quarter and 34 in the fourth to keep the Sparks from fully closing in. Dearica Hamby led the Sparks with 22 points and 13 rebounds for her fifth double-double of the season.

The Sparks (11-18) fell into a 15-point hole in the first after Chicago rattled off five three-pointers. The Sky (12-19) led 48-38 at the half.

“In the first quarter, we came out a little flat,” coach Lynne Roberts said. “I don’t know why. We were just reacting to everything, and I felt like the fourth quarter was a little bit of that. We had a couple bad minutes stretch where they went on a run, and then defensively just kind of died in the fourth.”

Behind a 10-2 open to the third quarter, the Sparks took a brief lead for the first time and entered the fourth with a 62-61 lead after holding the Sky to just 13 points.

Cameron Brink scored 11 points with six rebounds despite earning her fifth foul early in the fourth quarter. Before the game, Roberts noted that she would like to get more minutes out of Brink, and avoiding foul trouble is part of that.

“I got to figure out the fouling,” Brink said. “I have to be more reliable. It’s disappointing. I’m disappointed in myself tonight, but we get to play tomorrow.”

Chicago went on a 13-5 run after Brink, who also blocked three shots in her 14 minutes, left the game to retake a nine-point lead that would hold for the rest of the game.

“We were getting stops and playing in transition, which is when we’re good,” Hamby said. “And then I think when Ariel [Atkins] kind of got hit, it kind of slowed us down and stopped momentum.”

Atkins (eight points, three assists) took a hit to the ribs in the fourth quarter and didn’t return. Roberts said after the game that she was being evaluated by the medical staff.

Monique Akoa Makani, making her Sparks debut after being acquired in the Kelsey Plum trade Sunday, entered the game in the first and made her first shot attempt. She finished with three points and two assists while shooting one-for-five in 16 minutes off the bench. She got some time with the closing lineup while Atkins was out of the rotation.

The second-year guard projects as a shooting guard, Roberts said before the game, and is one of the Sparks few long-term pieces on such a veteran-heavy roster.

“She played hard,” Roberts said. “She’s still learning the ropes. It’s tough to go out there and in a close game be asked to execute stuff. We’ll figure out how to use her where she’s more comfortable, but it’s just going to take time. But I think she gave us everything she could tonight.”

Roberts also noted she would like to limit Erica Wheeler’s minutes going forward, and that was an area Akoa Makani can help the rest of the season. Wheeler played 24 minutes Wednesday — Roberts said she’d like to keep her under 25 — and scored 14 points with five assists.

The Sky were without their leading scorer, rookie Sydney Taylor, but were powered by 15 points and nine assists from Natasha Cloud. The Sky’s 53% from the field was their second-best shooting percentage of the season.

With Washington’s win against Dallas on Wednesday, the Sparks could not gain any ground in the playoff race. Chicago now owns the tiebreaker with a 2-1 season series record and is as many games behind the Mystics, dropping the Sparks further down in the standings.

Phoenix lost on Wednesday to stay a game behind the Sparks.

The Sparks turn right around Thursday night and face league-leading Minnesota (25-6).

“We have some things to figure out,” Brink said. “But we’re not losing hope. We’re just figuring stuff out right now.”

PORTLAND, Ore. — Dearica Hamby scored 23 points, Nneka Ogwumike had 20 of her 22 in the second half and the Sparks — after learning star teammate Kelsey Plum was traded — ended a six-game losing streak with a 106-101 win over the Portland Fire on Sunday.

Plum, sidelined since June 21 with a leg injury, was sent to the Phoenix Mercury late Saturday night. The Sparks are now 3-9 without Plum.

Ogwumike hit the go-ahead three-pointer with 1:25 to play, making it 98-96. Hamby followed with a layup off an Ogwumike assist. In the last 24 seconds, Ogwumike and Erica Wheeler went six for six from the foul line.

Wheeler, Ariel Atkins, Rae Burrell and reserve Jihyun Park all added 12 points for the Sparks (11-17). Hamby and Ogwumike both had 10 rebounds and Wheeler had eight assists.

Bridget Carleton hit seven three-pointers, scored 24 points and grabbed 11 rebounds for the Fire (11-19), who lost their fifth straight, four times allowing 100-plus points. Carla Leite added 21 points and eight assists and Megan DiLeo scored 19.

Portland took advantage of four offensive rebounds and six Los Angeles turnovers to lead 29-22 after one quarter. The lead reached 10 in the second quarter and the Fire were up 49-43 at the break.

Wheeler and Ogwumike had back-to-back three-pointers to give the Sparks their first lead since 10-8 at 65-64. Carleton’s three in the last minute pulled the Fire into a 72-72 tie entering the fourth quarter.

Up next for the Sparks: Play at Chicago on Wednesday.