6/9 Postgame Notes vs. Valkyries

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WNBA Los Angeles Sparks

6/9 Postgame Notes vs. Valkyries

June 10, 2025 - Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA)
Los Angeles Sparks News Release


Golden State Valkyries (4-5) at Los Angeles Sparks (3-7)

Game 10 | June 9, 2025 | Crypto.com Arena | Los Angeles, CA

Attendance: 10,921

Team Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 OT Final

Valkyries 25 15 25 13 11 89

Sparks 23 21 21 13 3 81

Game Leaders

Valkyries Sparks

Points Janelle Salaün (21) Kelsey Plum (24)

Rebounds Temi Fágbénlé (13) Dearica Hamby (9)

Assists Julie Vanloo (8) Kelsey Plum (7)

First Quarter:

Forward Dearica Hamby scored the Sparks' first five points of the game, including a layup from an assist by guard Kelsey Plum

Plum made the first three-pointer for the Sparks at the 3:52 mark following a rebound from Hamby, cutting L.A.'s deficit to 17-13

Plum tied the game with two free throws, 21-21, with 2:04 left in the quarter

The Sparks went on a 15-4 run to take a 23-21 lead with two free throws by forward Emma Cannon

Plum (2-for-4 FG, 2-for-3 3PT, 3-for-3 FT) and Hamby (3-for-5 FG, 3-for-4 FT) each scored a game-high-tying nine points, and Plum dished a team-high three assists in the first quarter

Second Quarter:

Forward-center Azurá Stevens secured an offensive rebound and then was fouled in the act of shooting, making two free throws to cut the Sparks deficit to 32-26 with 7:38 on the clock

Guard Sarah Ashlee Barker drained a triple off a Julie Allemand assist to make the score 35-29 with 6:32 remaining

Hamby swatted Temi Fágbénlé's shot out of bounds at the 4:54 mark

Cannon secured a layup off an assist from Plum, her fourth at the 3:57 mark

Allemand found Hamby with a long pass down the court, which Hamby finished at the 1:59 mark, making the deficit two points (38-35)

Plum evened the score at 38 apiece with her third three-pointer of the game. The guard scored 14 points (4-for-6 FG, 3-for-4 3PT, 3-for-3 FT) and dished four assists in the half

Hamby's two free throws put Los Angeles ahead by two on its next possession

Hamby held the game high in scoring for the first half with 15 points, five made field goals (55.6%) and five made free throws (62.5%).

Third Quarter:

The Sparks took a 49-43 lead on a basket by forward Rickea Jackson, assisted by Stevens, at the 7:29 mark

The Valkyries responded with an 12-4 run to take a 55-53 advantage with 3:21 remaining in the third

Allemand drilled a triple to put the Sparks ahead, 65-63, off a Hambyassist with 31 seconds left

There were five ties and four lead changes in the quarter

Los Angeles had three more assists than Golden State in the third quarter (7-4), led by Hamby's three, giving the Sparks an 18-15 advantage.

Fourth Quarter:

Center Mercedes Russell's reverse layup off an assist from Stevens was the Sparks' first point of the quarter at the 7:09 mark

Plum's three-pointer, assisted by guard Odyssey Sims, with 38 seconds left put the Sparks ahead, 78-76

Plum and Sims each had a pair of assists in the fourth

There were four lead changes and two ties in the quarter

Overtime:

Plum's pull-up jumper was the Sparks' first and only basket of the overtime period, bringing the score to 82-81 Golden State at the 2:28 mark

Main Takeaways:

Plum reached 1,000 career assists with her seventh assist in the game, finished by Jackson in the third quarter with 5:07 remaining. She scored a game-high 24 points with seven made field goals and four made three-pointers. The guard was also 6-for-6 in free throws

Hamby scored 20 points with seven made field goals and six made free throws. The forward also had nine rebounds and five assists

Allemand had all three of her assists in the second quarter, matching her career high in assists at the 1:26 mark. Stevens set her season high in assists with four and matched her season high in blocks with four

Cannon posted a +14 rating with six points and two made field goals. She also went 2-for-2 in free throws.

Barker had seven assists and three rebounds in 10 minutes of play, making all three of her shots, including a three-pointer

There were 14 lead changes and 11 ties in the contest

The Sparks outscored the Valkyries on the fast break, 25-8

Despite the loss, the Sparks raised $1,000 for Social Justice Partners LA, which invests in, expands and connects communities advancing racial and social justice. Through two Commissioner's Cup games, Los Angeles has now raised $5,000 for SJP LA

Pregame Quotes:

Head Coach Lynne Roberts

On the biggest challenge when facing the Valkyries:

"They've done an amazing job and [Valkyries head coach Natalie Nakase] has done an amazing job figuring out what their identity is and how they play. They present a lot of problems - They attack well, make you rotate and then they spray it out for threes. We've got to be really good guarding one-on-one, in terms of containing what we're trying to do. They're physical defensively. They get out and run, so they're a good team. I think they've bought into playing together and understanding that that's their best shot, and they've done a nice job."

On preparing for Valkyries guard Veronica Burton:

"Two games ago, [Veronica Burton] had 12 assists and zero turnovers. That's remarkable. They do a good job of playing in space and setting ball screens for her to create. She's obviously got elite decision-making. We're gonna have to be physical with her, and run different things at her so she doesn't get comfortable. Players like that are obviously very smart. You gotta mix things up. But she, to me, is their linchpin when she's playing well."

Postgame Press Conference Quotes:

Head Coach Lynne Roberts

On why the Sparks fell short:

"I felt like we just had a hard time finding a lot of the basket there. I don't know if we ran out of steam or what. Credit to them, but I thought we played really hard, and that's our first overtime game as a group and learning how to win is a process. I despise losing, but it is a process. Now we got that under our belt and we know a little bit better, but good back-and-forth game and they [won] the last round."

On the positive takeaways:

"We defended really well, where we got beat was on the [offensive rebounds]. I think we did a good job forcing them to take some long contested twos, and some tough, challenged threes and they had 17 offensive rebounds. They didn't shoot it that much better than we did. Neither team had a tremendous shooting night."

What's Next?: The Sparks go on the road to play the Las Vegas Aces Wednesday, June 11 (7 p.m. PT).

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