Sparks defeat Sky, snap three-game losing skid

LOS ANGELES -- The Sky fell in Los Angeles. But not in a bad way for the Sparks.

The Sparks (2-3) had 33 points in a big third quarter. They were able to hold off the Sky (0-3) the rest of the way. Los Angeles snapped a three-game losing streak, 91-78.

Kelsey Plum had a big hand in that aforementioned third period. She scored 17 points in that important quarter. She was asked about how this may be the most driven she's been in a few years.

"I don't give a damn about the points," Plum said when told about how she's scored 124 in five games. "I'm here to win. I'm trying to be patient in the first half. And I knew in the third quarter, I had to be a little bit more aggressive. But I've been on a mission since I came out the womb. I don't know about driven. It is what it is. You're just in a different position of being asked a whole lot more responsibility. But I've always been a driven human being."

The Sky got off to a quick run at the start of the second quarter. Coach Lynne Roberts gave her thoughts on how they handled it in this game.

"We’re learning to not think about what has just happened," Coach Roberts said. "Just attack the next play. And I thought that happened. KP hit a shot. (Azurá Stevens) hit a shot. We just answered. That’s the verb you want to use: just answer it. Don't dwell on what's happening, but just next play mentality, attack that. So they did a really good job of just not dwelling on the run and just keep chopping wood.”

Speaking of Stevens, she had a big game with 24 points (10 in that third quarter) to shake off last game's lack of scoring.

“I think me and (Dearica Hamby) boxed out as much as we could but the guards came in and got the ones that fell around the free throw line," Stevens said. "I think that's important when you're playing teams that have size, it takes a gang effort. I think the guards did a good job, and then, me and D did a good job, too, of just trying to battle them. We're skinny, but we're strong too, so we use that to our advantage, but…"

"And they play really, really hard," Coach Roberts finished.

The Sky did their best to slow down the Sparks but Los Angeles finished with 11 fast break points compared to Chicago's three. The Sparks took much better care of the basketball; they ended with 13 turnovers (with the last one being a shot clock violation when the game was already decided at the end). The Sky had 17 giveaways.

Plum finished the day with 28 points while Stevens had 24. Dearica Hamby is also the fifth player in league history to have a line of 10 points, six rebounds, eight assists, and six steals.

On the other side, Angel Reese led the team with 13 points and 12 rebounds. Kamilla Cardoso had 12 while Courtney Vandersloot and Bec Allen both had 11 points.

With that win out of the way, the Sparks look forward to their game against the Dream on Tuesday to end their home stand. They are looking to get back to .500.