Dearica Hamby made three key baskets in the final four minutes and finished with 24 points and 14 rebounds as the Los Angeles Sparks beat the host Washington Mystics 93-86 on Tuesday night to push their winning streak to three games.
Rickea Jackson’s 22 points included a 3-pointer during a late 9-0 spurt for the Sparks, who hadn’t won back-to-back games until the current surge.
Hamby shot 10-for-14 from the field and Jackson drained four 3-pointers. Azura Stevens added 15 points for Los Angeles (9-14), which finished at 51.5 percent from the field. Kelsey Plum posted 11 points and seven assists.
Brittney Sykes led the Mystics (11-12) with 18 points and Shakira Austin ended up with 17 points. Kiki Iriafen had 13 points.
The score was 67-67 going into the fourth quarter after the Mystics scored the final five points of the third quarter in a 37-second span. Sonia Citron pushed the Mystics’ lead to 71-67 in the first minute of the fourth, but the Sparks took control from there as Hamby and Jackson scored 10 points apiece.
The Sparks, who overcame 19 turnovers, turned an early 16-point deficit into a 40-35 halftime lead in part by outscoring Washington 24-9 in the second quarter. Hamby had 11 points by halftime.
The Mystics scored the game’s first eight points and built that advantage to 18-3 with slightly more than 5 1/2 minutes elapsed.
But the Sparks recovered and were within 27-25 less than four minutes into the second quarter. Los Angeles went ahead on Stevens’ basket with 2:29 left in the half.
Los Angeles shot 50 percent from the field in the opening half, making up for just 1-for-2 on free throws.
Washington was also at 50 percent in the first half, but 1-for-4 on 3-pointers compared to the Sparks going 5-for-16 from beyond the arc. Los Angeles finished with a 39-21 scoring edge from beyond the 3-point arc.
The Sparks won 99-80 a week earlier in Los Angeles in the teams’ first meeting of the season. That contest that doubled as both clubs’ final outing prior to the All-Star break.
–Field Level Media
