Sparks hang on to defeat Fever to win their last 7 of 8 games

LOS ANGELES -- The Sparks are keeping it rolling.

Los Angeles was up by as many as 22 points. Indiana came back and made it a game, cutting the deficit to six points. Then Azurá Stevens made a corner three to keep the Fever at bay. The Sparks would hold on for a 100-91 win and get their 7th victory of 8 games.

It was a fast-paced game from the start before the Sparks took over in the second quarter with some lay-ups by Dearica Hamby and three-pointers from the whole team. The lead would balloon to 22 in the fourth. As mentioned earlier, the Fever did make a run but the Sparks were able to hold them off for the win.

"Just calm down. We're fine," Sparks coach Lynne Roberts said about the run. "That was their run. We had to defend the three. That was a flurry by them. And that's a sign of a great team. They didn't quit. We were up 22. They could have folded. They didn't and I respect that. The lead was a little too big for it. But they hit some big shots. Made us a little bit uncomfortable. But I think you just have to stay steady and not panic."

Rickea Jackson likes how the team is playing.

"I just feel like, as a group, we're just playing together," Jackson said. "I feel like we're very dangerous. And our momentum and our energy is really good right now. And like Coach Lynn said, we're not flinching. We just have that confidence in each other. If we get down, we're not panicking anymore. We know what to do. We've been here before. We have the mental toughness to get over this hump or whatever that needs to be. But I just feel like we just keep coming and coming and coming. Not putting our heads down. So I just feel like, as a group, it's just a group thing."

Jackson, who had 25 points, talked about playing with Kelsey Plum, who had 11 assists.

"Um, feistiness," Jackson laughed when asked about Plum, "A bit of a fear. But, no, KP is literally like one of the most high IQ players I've ever played with. The way that she looks at the game. The things that she tells me within the game. Even at practice. It has helped grown my game so much. But also, the confidence she instills in me. Each and every game, you know, she's coming up to me. And she doesn't know how much that means to me. Because as a leader, at the game, you want to make your leader proud. You want to, you know, make a smile on her face. And, you know, just get her going as well. So being able to play with her, I feel like, has not only elevated my game, but the team as well. And I feel like it's just only going to get better."

However, in the second quarter, as it has happened in many WNBA games in the last week, a lime green toy was thrown onto the floor. During that time, Plum was on the free throw line and kicked it away almost immediately.

"I'm going to steal that question," Coach Roberts said about the incident. "I think it's ridiculous. It's dumb. It's stupid. It's also dangerous. And, you know, player safety is number one. Respecting the game. All those things. I think it's really stupid. Yeah, that's all I'm going to say."

"I'll say, too, we did a great job," Plum added. "Indiana included. Just playing on. Don't give it any attention. And the refs, I really appreciated them, too. It was just like, hey, let's go."

Jackson scored 25 points; she's averaged 26 points in her last two games. Plum also scored 25 and had 11 assists. Azurá Stevens made all five of her threes on her way to 19 points while Hamby scored 16. Cameron Brink tied a career-high five blocks.

On the other side, Kelsey Mitchell scored 34 points. Natasha Howard had 17 while Aliyah Boston and ex-Sparks guard Aari McDonald had 15 each.

The Sparks are now 13-15 overall and have boosted their home record to 4-9. Next in line for the Sparks at home are the Connecticut Sun on Thursday.