Dearica

SEATTLE — Dearica Hamby had 27 points and 11 rebounds, Rickea Jackson added 23 points and the Sparks beat the Seattle Storm 91-85 on Monday night.

Seattle led 85-80 with 2:47 to play but Hamby scored five points and Jackson four in an 11-0 closing run to pull the Sparks within 1½ games of the Storm and Indiana for the final two playoff spots. Seattle missed its last five shots.

Kelsey Plum added 14 points for the Sparks (19-20) and Rae Burrell had 11. Hamby had 11 rebounds as the Sparks dominated the boards 37-23. The also had a 60-30 advantage on points in the paint.

Nneka Ogwumike had 21 points on five first half three-pointers and two second half three-point plays for the Storm (22-20). Skylar Diggins also had 21 points and Ezi Magbegor added 11.

Gabby Williams had two baskets and an assist to fuel a 10-0 run for the Storm, who led 25-20 after one quarter.

Ogwumike had three three-pointers in less than a minute, making her five for five, for a 36-25 lead 3½ minutes into the second quarter. The Storm had six threes in the quarter, with Erica Wheeler’s in the closing seconds making it 53-39 at the half.

Sparks guard Kelsey Plum, left, drives to the basket in front of Seattle guard Erica Wheeler during the first half Monday.

(Steph Chambers / Getty Images)

Diggins opened the second half with a three for a 17-point lead, but the Sparks hit their first five shots and were 12 for 17 in the quarter. The final shot was a buzzer-beating one-handed three-pointer by Jackson from beyond the top of the key to cut the Storm’s lead to 73-68 entering the fourth quarter.

The Sparks play at second-place Atlanta on Wednesday and Friday. The Storm are home against New York on Friday.

The Sparks won a critical game Sunday, defeating the Washington Mystics 81-78 to keep their slim playoff hopes alive heading into the final two weeks of the regular season.

Washington hit a trio of three-pointers in the final minute, but Dearica Hamby‘s jumper in the paint and Kelsey Plum‘s two free throws in the final 20 seconds were enough to seal a Sparks win.

Hamby led the Sparks with 20 points and 12 rebounds, recording her 11th double-double of the season. Plum added 18 points, four rebounds and six assists. Rickea Jackson contributed 16 points and Azurá Stevens had 12 rebounds.

“Dearica was just a beast on the boards and finishing in traffic with those-and-ones,” Sparks coach Lynne Roberts said. “She’s just so strong and athletic,”

It was a critical win for a ninth-place Sparks team that is three wins behind the Indiana Fever for the final playoff spot.

The Sparks (18-20) likely will need to win a majority of their remaining games to have a chance at the postseason. Their final six-game slate includes two tests against Atlanta this week and games against Phoenix and Las Vegas to close the regular season.

They also need the Valkyries, Fever and Seattle Storm to lose. Golden State, which beat Indiana on Sunday night to move ahead of Seattle and into sixth, also owns the playoff tiebreaker after winning the season series against the Sparks.

The Sparks could help their cause with a road win over Seattle (22-19) on Monday night.

Before Sunday’s win, Roberts wanted to see better pacing from her team. She got that, along with better shot execution. Unfortunately, 13 turnovers allowed the Mystics to stay on the Sparks’ heels most of the game.

The Sparks came out strong in the first quarter, building a double-digit lead of 13 points.

Washington (16-25) responded in the second quarter and tied the game 24-24. Plum then split a pair of free throws to put the Sparks ahead and they pulled away to take a 40-31 lead by halftime.

The Sparks continued to stay ahead in the third quarter, but six points from Kiki Iriafen coupled with a Stefanie Dolson three-pointer gave Washington a 56-55 lead with 8:21 left. The Sparks retook the lead before a Sonia Citron three-pointer tied the score at 61-61 with 5:35 remaining.

Hamby then made a couple of free throws and scored on a two-foot layup to put the Sparks ahead for good.

Iriafren finished with 22 points and 13 rebounds, securing her 15th double-double of the season. Shakira Austin added 11 points and seven rebounds. Citron chipped in 12 points.

With some much at stake in days ahead, Stevens knows the Sparks can’t afford to lose their focus.

“We know the circumstances, but all we can control is the next possession.” Stevens said, “Just taking it day by day and really focusing on us, our defense, our rebounding, our pace on offense.”

Roberts also would like to see more from her players Monday night against Seattle.

“We’ve got to be better at putting teams away and not making it a close game, but we took care of business [tonight],” Roberts said.

Execution, intensity, and pacing defined Tuesday’s matchup at Crypto.com Arena, where the Sparks faced the Phoenix Mercury in their third meeting of the season, with the Sparks losing for the third time to the Mercury, 92-84.

Before the game, Sparks coach Lynne Roberts emphasized the importance of focus on both ends of the floor.

“For us offensively, it’s going to come down to pace and being willing to execute,” Roberts said. “You have to execute with intensity and intention.”

While Sparks (17-19) did a good job forcing some turnovers and getting some steals, execution was a little rushed.

With 40.5 seconds left in the third quarter, things got chippy on the court when Rickea Jackson slipped and limped off, sidelined for the remainder of the quarter.

“I am proud of her for trying to go back in, but I could tell she was just laboring a little bit and we had a big stretch coming in and it’s not fair to keep her through,” Roberts said of Jackson playing through what appeared to be an ankle injury.

“She is tough, and I have a feeling she’ll be fine by the time Friday comes around,” Roberts said.

Sparks forward Dearica Hamby’s scoring run early in the second quarter helped the Sparks briefly take the lead. After hitting a jumper to tie the score at 24, Hamby drew a foul and hit one of two free throws to put Los Angeles ahead 25-24. She finished with 25 points and eight rebounds.

But the Sparks couldn’t hold the advantage for long. The Mercury (23-14) led 48-40 at halftime and maintained control throughout.

“We didn’t shoot great from three, I mean that’s where the difference in the game is they (Phoenix) went 11 for 25, we went seven for 24,” Roberts said. “I do feel like we typically shoot it better,”

Satou Sabally paced Phoenix with 19 points and three rebounds. Kahleah Copper added 18 points and three assists, while Alyssa Thomas had a triple-double with 12 points, 16 rebounds and 15 assists.

Tuesday’s matchup was a testament to how physical the WNBA is, especially with playoffs on the line.

“I’m sure it’s because the playoffs are coming, and we’re scrapping for our lives, and they’re playing hard. We’re all playing for something and the intensity is up, and these guys have pride in how they play,” Roberts said

Despite strong performances from Jackson (21 points) and Hamby, the Sparks couldn’t break through against Phoenix’s balance and depth.

The Sparks next play the Indiana Fever on Friday night at Crypto.com Arena.

Less than 10 days ago, the Seattle Storm and the Sparks battled deep into a second overtime — the first of the 2025 WNBA season — wringing every drop of drama out of Climate Pledge Arena. On Sunday night, the same stakes were at play as the teams tried to strengthen their playoff chances.

The intensity didn’t let up till the final horn. With 5.6 seconds left, Dearica Hamby roared into the paint and scored on a driving layup to put the Sparks ahead for good. After the Storm missed their final chance to win, pandemonium spilled onto the floor — Sparks players leaping into one another’s arms, fans hollering over the hardwood, chanting “Hamby” in celebration of the Sparks’ 94-91 victory.

In addition to Hamby’s last-minute heroics, Kelsey Plum proved vital to helping the Sparks win for the ninth time in 11 games. She finished with 20 points, seven assists and six rebounds.

Sparks coach Lynne Roberts has painted Plum as a shape-shifter — able to twist her game into whatever the game demands.

“That’s what your best players should do — get everybody else involved and make sure we’re flowing,” Roberts said before the game, “and then when they need you, you step up. She’s done a tremendous job.”

Trailing the Storm (16-16) by 17 in the first quarter, Plum, who still hadn’t scored yet, tore into a one-on-five fast break, freezing the defense with a hesitation at the arc and a glide into the basket for an and-1.

Seconds later, Plum created another opportunity off an extended right elbow, drilling a three-pointer in Erica Wheeler’s face.

Sparks guard Kelsey Plum, right, drives against Seattle guard Brittney Sykes in the fourth quarter Sunday.

(Luke Hales / Getty Images)

It was the spurt of momentum the Sparks (15-16) needed to overcome a sputtering start.

Playing the entire first half, Plum went from the table-setter to shot-maker in the second quarter — springing Rae Burrell for a corner three before splashing a triple to tie the score 29-29 early in the second quarter.

Azurá Stevens and Cameron Brink were strong in the key early, but the Sparks clanked jumpers, dribbled into traffic and watched offensive possessions die on the rim in addition to committing eight first-quarter turnovers. So Roberts rolled the dice on a smaller look — swapping her paint patrol of Stevens and Brink for guards Julie Vanloo and Burrell.

Plum and Julie Allemand kept the smaller unit in constant motion, whipping passes from wing to wing and slicing open lanes for Burrell and Rickea Jackson, while Vanloo, Allemand and Plum cashed in from beyond the arc. Roberts rode that group into the second quarter, and they eventually whittled the deficit.

When the final buzzer faded, players were still grinning through hugs, and the crowd’s enthusiasm continued — excitement for a Sparks team that had yanked itself out of the fire.

When Julie Vanloo drew her second traveling violation before halftime, the crowd’s disapproval rose in unison.

On the floor, with tempers simmering on the Sparks’ bench, a delay-of-game whistle drew another round of jeers from the Crypto.com Arena crowd.

The calls weren’t the only sources of frustration for the Sparks — the team also was trailing the last-place Connecticut Sun by 10 points.

Still, the flare-up might have been what the Sparks needed to rally to a 102-91 victory over the Sun to earn their eighth win in nine games.

“Since the beginning of the season, I’ve been optimistic about what this team would look like and why I want to be here and why I want to continue to be here,” Dearica Hamby said. “[This team is] one of the fastest teams I’ve been with. … We’re not done yet, we’ve got a lot more to accomplish.”

After their deficit swelled to 13 points late in the second quarter, the Sparks (14-15) went on a 14-0 run, trimming the Sun’s lead to 51-49 by halftime.

In the third quarter, Hamby helped the Sparks keep pace with the Sun (5-24). Hamby racked up six points, an assist and a defensive rebound over four minutes.

A three-pointer by Rae Burrell late in the third quarter gave the Sparks a 66-64 lead. The Sun managed to tie it in the fourth quarter before a Cameron Brink three with 8:06 left gave the Sparks the lead for good.

Sparks teammates (from left) Rickea Jackson, Cameron Brink and Rae Burrell react during the fourth quarter Thursday.

(Luke Hales / Getty Images)

“We’ve hung in there and, as I’ve said, didn’t lose sight of the big picture when we had all those injuries and a lot of adversity,” Sparks coach Lynne Roberts said. “We’ve had a lot of adversity in that sense, and took some tough losses. But it’s a great group. They’re good people and they want this team to do well.”

Julie Allemand was a consistent force throughout the game, finishing with 10 points, 11 assists and 11 rebounds to become the 22nd player in WNBA history to record a triple-double.

“She was just dialing today, she was really good,” Roberts said. “It was impossible in the second half to take her out of the game. … She was just unbelievable.”

From the opening quarter — when Allemand flashed her handle with a flurry of steps, an in-and-out dribble and a hard drive before dishing to Rickea Jackson for a three-pointer at the extended elbow — the Allemand Act didn’t let up.

She proved to be an essential floor general for the Sparks, as the Sun held leading scorer Kelsey Plum to just one point in the first half.

“KP didn’t have a great offensive first half,” Allemand said. “I’m trying as a point guard to see what I need to do to help this team — if it’s scoring, if it’s rebounding, playing defense, offense, depending how [to] fuel my teammates on the court, and I think that’s what I did today.”

Hamby finished with 21 points, five rebounds and four assists and Jackson scored 20 points. Plum surged in the second half to finish with 18 points and Burrell had nine points off the bench.

With Brink back proving to be strong on both ends — she finished with 11 points, five blocks and two rebounds — the Sparks turned Crypto.com Arena’s boos into all cheers by the end of the game.

When the Sparks traded for Kelsey Plum, the buzz around her reunion with former championship teammate Dearica Hamby centered on one thing: their pedigree elevating the franchise.

On Tuesday night, fans got a glimpse of the potential that the duo could attain. The chemistry. The comfort. The way they fed off each other’s energy — stepping up when the Sparks needed it most, looking to build momentum off a previous hard-fought victory.

By the fourth quarter of an 88-82 loss to the Atlanta Dream (4-2) on Tuesday night at Crypto.com Arena, the Sparks (2-4) were on the verge of a comeback. A steal by Hamby near midcourt turned into an outlet on the fastbreak to Plum, who quickly dished it back for the finish, trimming the deficit to 66–63.

The second half belonged to them. Plum and Hamby combined for 39 points to rally the Sparks from a 40–31 halftime hole. Like clockwork, Plum buried a clutch three-pointer to cut the lead to 71–70 — the closest L.A. would get. Hamby’s late free throws pulled them to within two in the final minutes.

They led by example — attacking the basket, applying pressure on defense, diving for loose balls — doing everything necessary to win the close games the Sparks have so often found themselves in this season.

But in the end, like so often before, their effort fell just short.

Although the duo played with a sense of urgency, it’s still something the team as a whole struggles to sustain over a full 40 minutes, according to head coach Lynne Roberts. It seemed they might have turned a corner Sunday, but that performance now feels like the exception, not the start of a trend.

“My message to the group was we’ve got to be able to put 40 minutes together and not get down and then play with that urgency,” Roberts said. “We have the ability to play like that more, and that’s what I’d like to see when we go in those spurts or the droughts.”

As a team, the drought came in the second quarter. Coming off their highest-scoring game of the season, the Sparks looked out of sorts against a staunch Atlanta defense that refused to give up easy baskets.

The Dream disrupted the Sparks’ rhythm from the start, denying space for them to initiate sets, locate open shooters or generate meaningful possessions — the blueprint of Roberts’ offense. That inefficiency became more pronounced as the quarter progressed, when opportunities came sparingly and turnovers, whether from steals or denied attempts at the rim, became a recurring theme.

“I could do a better job,” Plum said, shouldering the brunt of the offensive inefficiency in the period. “Getting the people the ball, good shot. And I think we had a lot of good looks around the rim early… Just missed them, and credit to them.”

Plum finished with 27 points, five assists, three rebounds and four steals, and Hamby had 28 points, eight assists, six rebounds and four steals of her own, with Roberts adding that “those are stupid numbers. And her defense there in the second half got us back in it.”

With inconsistency still prevalent and struggles to close out games lingering, Plum and Hamby agree the team is close to improving, but the process is ongoing.

“If you watch these game, we’re right freaking there,” Plum said.

Hamby says success won’t come this early in the season, reflecting on her and Plum’s championship experience in Las Vegas.

“We enjoy the process — been part of the process,” Hamby said. “We know that it’s not like it happens overnight. It’s not going to happen in the first six games of the season.

“Obviously, we want to compete and we want to keep building. But perspective: this is a new group. We’re learning a whole new system. It’s predicated on chemistry, movement, space, team.”

But the road to success remains a marathon.

The Sparks will have only a few days to continue their team-building efforts before hitting the road for a matchup in Las Vegas against the Aces — the former home of both All-Stars. For Plum, it signifies her first return since the offseason trade.

The quick turnaround also gives Rickea Jackson, fresh off a concussion, more time to ease back into the lineup.

With starters logging heavy minutes and rookies thrust into high-pressure roles early in the season, the Sparks simply needed more bodies to ease the burden. The return of Rickea Jackson was a welcome boost.

Still, the Sparks took a cautious approach to her reintroduction. Jackson came off the bench and played limited minutes (12) mostly in the second half, as she worked to reacclimate to the pace of live play.

At times, she looked like a player still finding her rhythm, missing shots she typically makes and picking up uncharacteristic fouls. She finished with more fouls than any other stat: three fouls and just one rebound.