SAN FRANCISCO -- The Los Angeles Sparks made it count in the preseason.
They only had one preseason game and it was against the newly-minted Golden State Valkyries team. And they escaped with the win, 83-82.
It's a preseason game so most of the first unit didn't play much in the second half. But it was a great showing by the top of the rotation as they led by as many as 14 points. Most of the bottom of the rotation played in the second half but the Sparks never gave up the lead. Rookie Liatu King made a big three-pointer to extend the lead to 78-72 with 1:37 left in the game.
Kelsey Plum was very impressed with the Golden State crowd.
“What a privilege to play here,” Plum beamed. “The fans were awesome. They were talking trash from warm-ups. It’s great; I love it. Just having their support in the W in general… it’s a preseason game and it’s the loudest preseason game I’ve ever been in.”
As far as the positives and negatives of the game, Coach Lynne Roberts went over that.
“We moved the ball pretty well, just the timing was a little off,” Coach Roberts said. “There was some confusion in execution. But they were collectively in it. The timeouts were great, they were engaged, and everyone’s in it. As I’ve said about this group, there’s talent but there’s not a sense of ego. And those are two very different things. It makes you coachable, that makes you a good teammate, that makes you improve.
”There’s a lot of good things,” Roberts continued. “I’m proud that we ended up with the win. That’s a positive. All those rookies out there, they figured it out.”
Plum was complimentary about the Sparks’ first round pick, Sarah Ashlee Barker.
“I think SA is going to help us a ton,” Plum said. “She’s tough as nails. She’s super competitive and she’s a gamer. So that’s somebody that’s really going to help us.”
Speaking of the rookies, Barker produced with five points (including a three), three rebounds, and three assists in 13 minutes of play. Sania Feagin from South Carolina got in late and had three points and a rebound. King finished with six points and four boards.
For the vets, Rickea Jackson showed her three-level scoring as she led the team with 13 points. Plum was the safety valve that the team was missing last season as she was breaking down defenses and was an offensive threat in the time she was on the court; she ended with 11 points and five assists. Dearica Hamby was in playmaker mode and had four points, six rebounds, and six assists. And Azura Stevens missed a double-double with nine points and 11 boards.
Laeticia Amihere led the Valkyries with 20 points as she was the only player in Golden State to score in double figures.
This is the only preseason game that the Sparks are playing before the real thing starts. Then the regular season starts against these same Valkyries back in Chase Center on Friday, the 16th.
