ARLINGTON, Tex. -- After four days off, the Sparks are refreshed after a crunched schedule to start the 2025 campaign. They resume their season with a trip to Texas. The team will take on the Dallas Wings on Friday night.
The Wings are 1-7, one of the few teams that are below the Sparks (2-6) in the standings. The Wings have a new coach in Chris Koclanes, who hopes to take the team higher. He was brought in with arms wide open by new general manager and former Sparks coach Curt Miller. Dallas also has mainstay all-star Arike Ogunbowale and of course, the prize of the 2025 WNBA Draft, the first overall pick Paige Bueckers.
But Bueckers is out due to concussion protocol. Ty Harris is also out due to a knee injury. Still, the Wings have talent with such players as last year’s Most Improved Player Dijonai Carrington, NaLyssa Smith, and Maddy Siegrist.
Still, just because the Wings have a worse record than the Sparks doesn’t mean it’ll be an easy win for them.
“They’ve got one of the best scorers in the game (in Arike Ogunbowale),” Sparks coach Lynne Roberts said. “She can go off for 40. So we’ve got to do a good job containing her. I feel like they’ve been very close in games, too. So I’m sure both of us definitely want to get over the hump. So every game in this league for us right now is really hard.”
Ogunbowale is off to a slow start as she’s averaging 16.1 points per game while shooting a not-so-great .349. Still, she’s as explosive as anyone in the league. She once led the league in scoring, after all.
The Sparks are currently on their second three-game losing streak this year. The wins haven’t come by but it’s early in the season. Coach Roberts is not exactly in panic mode.
“I don’t think you can fast-track time,” Roberts said of the team’s chemistry and unity. “But it’ll come and I really believe that we’re really close to having that breakthrough moment where it just comes clicking.
“I’m not losing sight of the process on that. I’m not freaking out. It’s early and there’s a lot of season left. I want to be peaking in August, not on May.”
Kelsey Plum continues to lead the team in scoring at 22.9 points per, which is second in the league. Dearica Hamby has been steady, averaging 17.6 points and 7.8 rebounds. Azurá Stevens’ scoring has slowed a bit but she’s still sixth in the league at rebounding (9.3).
And on Friday, the team will get some much-needed help. Forward Rickea Jackson is back as she took personal time off after the Sparks’ loss to the Dream on May 27th. She explained how different she saw the game when she was sitting out.
“You see how teams play you, certain spots you could get to when you’re sitting on the side,” Jackson said. “Experience is your biggest teacher but at the same time, being on the sideline, being able to watch it, I feel like it is a different game than being out there. Because when you’re out there, you’re going so fast, you’re trying to make the right play.
“When you’re sitting down, it’s just like, I could have taken my time right there in that position. So, you know, it is different, for sure.”
Jackson also provided some keys to stopping the Wings.
“Just making it tough, you know, they’re great players and they get to their spot, regardless,” Jackson stated. “Just making them take tough twos, forcing them, bumping them a little bit, but making sure we’re staying true to our principles.”
Coach Roberts stopped short of saying that Jackson would be in the starting line-up. As of this writing, the Sparks’ starting line-up has yet to be determined.
The Wings do shoot the most twos in the league. They're also second in the league in second chance points. But while they’re in the top half of offensive rating (that’s points per 100 possessions) in the league, they’re in the bottom three in defensive rating (that’s points allowed per 100 possessions). The Sparks have to take advantage of the Wings’ leaks defensively.
The Sparks were once last in rebounding per game but they’re no longer in that spot after outrebounding the Aces and being even with the Mercury.
“We’ve gotten better (in rebounding),” Roberts said. “Transition defense has gotten better. There’s a lot of things we’ve got to continue to work on and be disciplined with, and rebounding is one of them.”
What’s really important for them, though, is that “next play mentality” that Coach Roberts has preached many times this season. Roberts admits that’s still something they’re working on but once that falls into place, it could be the breakthrough they’re looking for.
“I think that’s when we talk about ‘next play’ and toughness and mental toughness, that’s the key,” Roberts said about getting into emotions during the game. “You cannot be mad or distracted by what just happened here. Mentally tough teams, the best teams that consistently win, they don’t sweat what just happened. You can’t fix it, you can’t change it. You have to move on and we’ve got some players who need to learn to do that better.”
And if they’re able to toughen up on Friday, the next play for the Sparks would be their third win of the 2025 season.