SEATTLE -- The Sparks just keep winning on the road.
It took longer than usual as the Sparks and the Storm went back and forth in Seattle. The game went to double overtime and in the end, it was a lay-up by Dearica Hamby with 4.3 seconds left that put them ahead. Skylar Diggins missed the game-tying banker and the Sparks won in a marathon, 108-106.
DEARICA SEALS IT! @dearicamarie x @WNBA pic.twitter.com/kapgBtC9Go
— Los Angeles Sparks (@LASparks) August 2, 2025
The Sparks (12-15) have won six of their last seven games. It was certainly a different game than their first match-up.
But this is also a much different Sparks team. They have been road warriors this season as they won their league-leading ninth win away from home.
"We are able to eliminate distractions on the road. It's very much the collective, all-for-one, one-for-all mentality," Sparks coach Lynne Roberts said about winning on the road. "We understand that we're a ‘sum of the parts’ team and that's not very common, is it? We've got great crowds, and it's not like we’re playing in an empty arena so we've got to fix the home game thing, but we will. We're continuing to get better but this was a great win. To be able to do it on the road with this crowd in double overtime, it's a great confidence boost."
Kelsey Plum agreed that they have to fix their home woes. They have the least home wins in the league this season at three.
“At the end of the day, we're professional athletes, and we're gonna figure it out," Plum said. "Tonight was a great step in the right direction, and… we have Indiana at home, they're playing great basketball, that's not gonna be an easy game. I think we have to take it one game at a time, and when we start to look at the standings and where we're at, every game is critical and defending home court is the way that you get into the playoffs. If you win your home games, you're usually in the playoffs. We took a big step tonight but I also think that we have a lot more steps to take. So yeah, I'll take accountability for that. We gotta be able to win at home and I think that's on me (to be) better.”
Rickea Jackson has been a go-to player in the clutch. She did her thing against Indiana in the closing moments. She got the game-winner in New York. And the Sparks went to her in regulation as she made the lay-up with four seconds left that sent the game to overtime.
“It means a lot for my coaches and my teammates to trust in me in these crucial moments," Jackson said about getting the ball in the closing moments of the game. "At the end of the day, I just want to win for them. For them to even trust to put the ball in my hands in those moments, it makes you focus a little bit more. You're like, ‘I'm going to make sure that I make this bucket, because if not, I would be so disappointed in myself, I will beat myself up for that until the next game.’ So that's all it's about, the trust factor, the moving the ball… we're getting each other the ball in our spots, and I feel like our chemistry is just continuing to grow. (If) the ball goes to anybody in those moments, whoever it is, we're all just fearless. So it's not just me, it's anybody. So again, (I'm) just proud of this team and glad we got this win.”
Plum was very proud of the team's poise.
"That's one of the things that I've been super impressed about this group, like we just don't get rattled," Plum said. "On the road, I think we've had a lot of close wins, and if you look at overtime, everyone made clutch plays. Julie (Allemand) went to the hole in one play, obviously (Rickea Jackson) had two big buckets to get us into overtime, Dearica (Hamby) had that one (shot), (Azurá Stevens) had some big shots. It was really just everyone reading the game and whatever kind of (was) available. It was awesome to (have) everyone stay super aggressive, and they scored and we just went down the other way and got a couple easy buckets. I think that was just a good sign of maturity; that's when we're at our best.”
The three-point shooting was not great for the Sparks for the whole game (7 for 26, .269) but they did make four of their last seven threes after the third quarter. They had 18 turnovers but only eight in the second half, including those two overtimes. Overall, it was a really great game and it seemed like whoever had the last possession would win. The Sparks got the final stop and took the W.
The "core four" of the Sparks struck again. Jackson ended with a team-high 27 points and nine boards. Plum had a slow start but ended with 22 points and seven assists. Hamby and Stevens each had 21 while Mama D ended with 13 boards for another double-double and the game-winner. Cameron Brink had seven points and three blocks and was critical in the fourth quarter for the Sparks.
For the Storm (16-12), Nneka Ogwumike had a monster game against her former team with 37 points (one short of her career-high) and 12 boards. Skylar Diggins had 18 points, Erika Wheeler had 15, and Gabby Williams had 14 points, five boards, eight assists, and five steals.
The Sparks will have a bit of a break before they go home to face the Indiana Fever on Tuesday.
