NEW YORK -- The Sparks are on a heatwave.
And it's all thanks to a buzzer-beater by the Sparks rising star, Rickea Jackson. Check it:
RICKEA JACKSON FOR THE WIN!!! @iamthathooper x @WNBA pic.twitter.com/5PBWX8XHuT
— Los Angeles Sparks (@LASparks) July 27, 2025
The Sparks (11-14) have now won five in a row after upsetting the Liberty (17-7) in their house, 101-99. It's their second game in a row where they scored 100 or over and the Sparks' run as of late is starting to get scarier by the day.
Jackson talked about her first career WNBA game-winner.
"I just feel like we just executed it," Jackson said. "We drew a play up and we just executed it to the T. (Dearica Hamby) saw me and got her assist. So I can't let them down. I gotta give D her assist or whatever. But just to celebrate that moment, I feel like we worked really hard for this win. So I just feel like we deserve it."
Jackson got off to a scorching start, scoring 17 points in the first quarter.
"I feel like this was just the icing on the cake for us," Jackson added. "Going 3-0 on a road, it's big-time. I feel like we're peaking at the right time. We're playing really well on both ends of the floor. So we gotta get this win. We deserve it. We played great basketball the whole game. So why not win it?"
The Sparks have won five straight games, which is the current longest win streak in the league.
"Just like Rickea said, I think we're finding momentum at the right time," Hamby said. "And, yeah, we're gonna celebrate this tonight, get back in the gym tomorrow and get ready for Vegas."
L.A. led by as many as 15 points and New York kept rallying back. But the Sparks held them back every time up until Jackson made the game-winner at the buzzer.
"They're defending champs and their star power," Sparks coach Lynne Roberts said about the Liberty. "But part of learning to win is learning to just stay steady and not get too high or too low or panic, right? And we didn't.
"I'm just proud of these guys' resilience. And they're buying in and they're figuring it out."
The Sparks scored 35 in the first quarter as opposed to the Libs' 20. The Liberty played uphill for the rest of the game and it was made tougher as not only were they playing a second game of a back-to-back but due to Breanna Stewart going out of the game because of a lower leg injury. Azurá Stevens kept the Sparks above ground in the second half as the Liberty rallied again and again. The Sparks got the ball back with 23.1 seconds left with the game tied at 99. After Liberty gave their foul to give with 5.9 ticks left, Jackson posted up and made the difficult shot for the win.
Jackson scored 24 points overall to lead Los Angeles. Plum had 20 points and eight assists while Stevens (17 pts, 11 rebs) and Hamby (17 pts, 10 rebs) each had double-doubles. Julie Allemand had a dollar's worth of dimes (10 assists). As for the Liberty, Sabrina Ionescu led all scorers with 30 points while Natasha Cloud had 22 points and nine assists.
The Sparks sweep their three-game roadie and will be back home at Crypto.Com Arena Tuesday to take on the Las Vegas Aces.
