Dearica Hamby, Sparks rally to beat Mystics for their 1st win
LONG BEACH — Lexie Brown had a game-high 20 points and Dearica Hamby had her second double-double of the season with 17 points and 18 rebounds as the Sparks used a strong second-half surge to pull off a 70-68 comeback win against the Washington Mystics on Tuesday night at Long Beach State’s Walter Pyramid.
The Sparks (1-2) trailed 47-40 with 4:32 left in the third quarter but turned the tide with a 15-5 run and took a 55-52 lead on Hamby’s layup with 46 seconds left in the third. The score was tied at 55-all heading into the fourth quarter.
“I would say we got to our spots better,” Hamby said. “I think we matched the physicality a little bit more, the refs let us play.”
The Sparks began the fourth on an 8-1 run and took a 65-56 lead with 5:48 to go on a fast-break layup by Brown.
“I think we just picked up the pace on the offensive end, we want to run,” Brown said. “We have such dangerous threats at every position, especially in space, when we’re up and down.”
However, Washington (0-4) responded with a 9-0 run and cut the Sparks’ lead to 65-64 with 2:06 remaining. Hamby’s jumper made it 67-64, but Washington center Shakira Austin’s fadeaway jumper cut it to 67-66 with 1:24 left.
The Sparks had an opportunity to add to their slim advantage but rookie forward Rickea Jackson, who finished with nine points off the bench, committed her fifth turnover with 39 seconds remaining. The Sparks forced a shot clock violation with 16.7 seconds to go, then Brown made two clutch free throws to go up 69-66 with 14.7 seconds left.
A layup by Washington guard Ariel Atkins made it 69-68 with 10 seconds left, then Sparks guard Kia Nurse (13 points) was fouled with 7.6 seconds to go and made one of two free throws for a 70-68 lead.
Austin’s shot was then blocked by Sparks rookie forward Cameron Brink with 0.3 seconds left.
“When Cam is not in foul trouble it allows us to play Rickea more at the 3,” Sparks coach Curt Miller said.
Washington inbounded the ball but was not able to get off a shot attempt before time expired and the Sparks overcame 24 turnovers to earn their first win of the season.
“Every win is huge for us, for our confidence and what we’re doing,” Miller continued. “So really proud of them. It was two teams that mirrored each other than are trying to find an identity, certainly, both of us have an absolute direction that we’re taking right now and it’s fun.”
“Our coach believes in us and believes in me individually and he shows that in practices,” Hamby said before the game. “He hasn’t hung his head once, so we’re not going to hang our heads.”
Brown, the team’s longest-tenured player (acquired in a March 2022 trade with the Chicago Sky), said she is enjoying the opportunity to be one of her team’s go-to players.
“It’s fun,” Brown said before the game. “It’s something I was expecting so I came this season with a few new tools in my toolbox and this team is great. They put me in great situations to be successful and we have threats at all positions so when the (other) team is keying on me that’s cool, we have a lot of playmakers and bucket-getters on this team.”
Washington (0-4) was led by rookie guard Julie Vanloo and Austin with 12 points. Rookie forward Aaliyah Edwards added 10 points
The Sparks, who only mustered eight points in the second quarter, will return to action when they host No. 1 draft pick Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever on Friday night at Crypto.com Arena.
A deep 3-pointer by Brown with eight seconds left in the first quarter but the Sparks up 24-23. Brown had nine points (3 for 3 from behind the arc) in the first.
However, Vanloo banked in back-to-back 3-pointers, which put Washington up 33-29 midway through the second quarter. Washington’s 11-0 run put them up 36-29 with 1:15 left before halftime. Brown, who had 15 points in the first half, added her final three points of the second quarter on a technical free throw and a pull-up jump shot as the Sparks trailed 36-32 at halftime.
Hamby, who scored a career-high 29 points against her former Las Vegas Aces team on Saturday, had 12 rebounds in the first half against Washington but struggled offensively with two points on 1-for-6 shooting from the field at halftime.
“I felt like I couldn’t really put the ball in the basket the first half but there’s other ways I can contribute to the game that still gets me going,” Hamby explained.
The Sparks shot 38.7% in the first half, connecting on 12 of 31 attempts, including 5 of 12 from 3-point range (41.7%).
Brink finished with four points, eight rebounds, three assists, three steals and three blocks in their third career WNBA start.
“It’s physical so being who I need to be for the team,” Brink said before the game. “It doesn’t need to be offensively necessarily just doing whatever I need to help the team, going forward I’m going to continue to be a rim protector, be a force and help out the girls.”