It’s been a rough season for the Sparks, and they found themselves in another dogfight on Wednesday, this time against the New York Liberty, the team with the best record in the WNBA.
Instead of a second-half meltdown like the one they suffered against the Dallas Wings on Sunday, they punched back en route to a 94-88 win at Crypto.com Arena.
“Super proud of these guys tonight,” Sparks coach Curt Miller said. “Less than two weeks ago, coming out of the Olympic break on national television, [we] just did not compete real well against this same New York team. So for us to step back up, especially after the disappointment from Dallas, it just says so much about this team’s character.”
Every time Liberty stars Sabrina Ionescu or Breanna Stewart made a play, someone on the Sparks would step up to get momentum back. Whether it was Rickea Jackson hitting a three, Dearica Hamby driving to the hoop for a tough layup or Rae Burrell knocking down a jumper, the Sparks always had an answer.
“We’ve consistently shown three quarters out of four quarters, with any team, we’re the better team on the floor, but we haven’t been able to close games,” Hamby said. “So this is what we’ve been talking about. … Down the stretch, we emphasized, ‘We got to close this game, we got to close this game. We got to get stops,’ [We] just gutted it out.”
Jackson, who came off a career-high 25-point performance on Sunday, got the Sparks off to a quick start with 13 points in the first quarter to help the team build a 26-14 lead.
“I don’t know how many games in a row it is now that she has gotten us off to great starts.” Miller said of Jackson. “We’ve played through her a lot and she’s had great first quarters. She is really, really special at the offensive end, and it’s only going to get better.”
The Sparks thrived on defense through the first two quarters, forcing 12 turnovers and scoring 18 points off of them, leading by as many as 14.
And when the Liberty came roaring back in the second half, Hamby (21 points, six rebounds and five assists) and Burrell (18 points and five rebounds) stole the show. They drove the final nail in the coffin late in the fourth when Burrell was fouled on a turnaround jumper, made the shot and converted the free throw to tie her career high in points and extend the Sparks’ lead to eight points. Hamby cut through the defense on the next possession for the layup to put the Sparks back up by double digits and seal their eventual win.
It’s the Sparks first victory since July 15, snapping a seven-game losing streak, and their first home win since July 5. They are far from vying for playoff contention, but a statement win against the best team in the league can build some momentum — and confidence — for a young squad down the final stretch of the season.
“Championship teams … they take time,” Hamby said, referring to her experience on the Las Vegas Aces. “… So we know it’s a process. We think we have key pieces, we’ve shown that we have key pieces in our young team. Just keep building, we’re not necessarily focused on winning a championship this year, but [we’re] just focused on building for the rest of the season and for next year.”
