Sparks outplay Storm almost everywhere except the scoreboard
Four of the Sparks’ starters scored in double figures, but it wasn’t enough. Dearica Hamby had a historic night, grabbing her 341st rebound to break Lisa Leslie’s 20-year-old single-season franchise record and enter the Sparks’ top-10 career rebounds list, but it still wasn’t enough.
The Sparks outrebounded the Seattle Storm, outscored them in the paint and had more second-chance points, but all of it wasn’t enough as the Sparks fell 90-82 on Wednesday in their penultimate home game of the season.
“It was a really, really well-played game,†Sparks coach Curt Miller said. “I thought both teams adjusted to the physicality around the rim. The officials let a lot go tonight but because of that, there was some flow in our game. I just thought it was a really good basketball game … a lot easier to walk into that locker room tonight and talk to them about all the positives that we did.â€
Rickea Jackson led the Sparks with 22 points. But it was really the efforts of two role players that shone through: Odyssey Sims, who recently was signed for the rest of the season, had 16 points while shooting 61% from the field to go with six assists and three rebounds. And Azurá Stevens had another monster night as she scored 18 points and grabbed 15 rebounds for a total of 32 rebounds in 48 hours.
“I just think I play better when I don’t think and I’m just aggressive,†Stevens said. “I think it helps the team come out and be more aggressive and it just gets us all attacking.â€
The Sparks entered the fourth quarter trailing by six, their largest deficit. They’ve had a bad habit of letting runs snowball throughout the season, but it appeared as though they finally found an answer when a reverse layup from Jackson put the cap on an 8-0 run to start the period, giving the Sparks back the lead for the first time since before halftime.
The teams traded buckets for the next few minutes, but a corner three-pointer from Sami Whitcomb gave Seattle a 75-72 lead with just less than six minutes to go. The Sparks were able to get within one point, but a late sequence that consisted of a fadeaway basket from Skylar Diggins-Smith and a Crystal Dangerfield turnover that led to a fast-break layup from former Sparks forward Nneka Ogwumike stretched the lead to five with less than two minutes to go.
A pair of missed free throws from Rae Burrell in the final 90 seconds ended any hopes of a Sparks comeback.
Sims, a 10-year veteran, says a young team such as the Sparks being in these situations is a sign of growth.
“We don’t have anything to lose, so what we control is our effort,†she said. “Whether you play a lot of minutes or not, go out there and give it your all. I think that’s more important, because it trickles down, from one all the way to 12. It’s contagious. … We have a young group, but you see glimpses of how good we can be.â€
The Sparks (7-30) head to Seattle (22-14) for a rematch on Sunday. They return to Crypto.com Arena for their home finale against the Phoenix Mercury on Tuesday.
