UNCASVILLE, CONN. -- We're living in a powder keg and giving out Sparks.
The Sparks (10-14) pulled away in the second half against the Sun in Connecticut (3-20). The lead became a double-digit affair late in the third and the Sparks won going away, 101-86. Los Angeles has made it four in a row in the W column.
Sparks coach Lynne Roberts talked about how they have been playing amidst this winning streak.
"Yeah, we're figuring it out and I think for the last month we've been playing pretty well," Roberts summarized. "I know we lost to Minnesota, we lost to New York... but we've been playing pretty well and it's really good to have players back.
"We're starting to play a little more fluidly and that just comes with continuity in our roster and continuity on the court and time together," Roberts added.
Julie Allemand had season highs of 12 points and eight rebounds against the Sun.
"Every game is different," Allemand said. "I think that sometimes you can go (inside), sometimes it's harder. I just think that my job as a PG is always to read the defense. That's what I'm trying to do as much as I can. Sometimes, it's easier to go into the end. Sometimes, it's easier to get the threes. It depends but I think like the coach said today, I was a little bit more aggressive. I know that when I'm aggressive, I'm helping the team, too. I know I need to keep improving and trust myself that I can go to the end."
The Sparks did play well but no game is perfect. And as Coach has said before many times during the season, they're taking it one game at a time.
"Yeah, and to be honest, I don't think we played perfect," Roberts said. "We did not play mistake-free. But we had 10 turnovers a half. That's too many. But we didn't have any in the third quarter. We're maturing. We're getting better. And I'm very much process-driven and present tense. So tomorrow we're going to enjoy this. Four in a row and all the things but tomorrow we wake up and it's all about New York. And I couldn't tell you who we play after New York. So it's one at a time and every day, just try to get a little bit better and challenge these guys a little bit more. But they've bought in and I guess my point is I don't want to get too far ahead of ourselves. I just want to be all about the next game."
Kelsey Plum was in her Jansport as she scored 30. She got to the rim over and over in the third quarter. Dearica Hamby had her typical double-double with 20 points and 11 boards. Azurá Stevens went for 17 and in that aforementioned noteworthy performance, Allemand scored 12 points and grabbed eight boards.
For the Sun, the ageless Tina Charles went for 24 points and 10 boards. Olivia Nelson-Ododa scored 17 while Bria Hartley, who was ejected early in the second half with two technical fouls, put in 16 points.
The 101 points is the second time they went over the century mark since Sep. 5, 2019. The last time they did that? They blew a big fourth quarter lead in Dallas when they scored 110 in a heartbreaking loss last season.
This time around, they have massive momentum in their showdown against the Liberty in New York on Saturday. They will be seeking their fifth straight win.
