Los Angeles Sparks Wallop Washington, Win Second Straight
WNBA Los Angeles Sparks

Los Angeles Sparks Wallop Washington, Win Second Straight

July 16, 2025 - Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA)
Los Angeles Sparks News Release


The Sparks recorded season highs in points, assists and field goals made, beating the Mystics 99-80.

7/15 SPARKS POSTGAME NOTES & QUOTES

Los Angeles Sparks Wallop Washington, Win Second Straight

Washington Mystics (11-11) at Los Angeles Sparks (8-14)

Game 22 | July 15, 2025 | Crypto.com Arena | Los Angeles, CA | Spectrum SportsNet

Attendance: 10,787

Game Leaders:

Mystics

PTS - Shakira Austin (16)

REB - Shakira Austin/Kiki Iriafen (8)

AST - Sonia Citron (6)

Sparks

PTS - Dearica Hamby (26)

REB - Azurá Stevens (8)

AST - Julie Allemand (10)

First Quarter:

Guard Kelsey Plum scored the first points of the game with a layup at the 9:22 mark

Plum sank the first three-pointer of the game for the Sparks at the 7:03 mark, giving Los Angeles an 11-7 lead

The Sparks went on a 12-4 run to take a 16-9 lead

Plum led the Sparks in scoring after one quarter with nine points, going 4-for-4 from the field and 1-for-1 from three

Guard Julie Allemand recorded a team-high four assists in the quarter

The Sparks' finished the quarter shooting 9-18 (50%) from the field and 6-for-6 from the free throw line

Los Angeles led in paint points with 14 to the Mystics' 10

There were four lead changes and two ties in the first quarter

Second Quarter:

Guard Julie Allemand scored the first bucket of the second quarter with a three-pointer at the 9:46 mark. The point guard dished eight assists in the first half

Forward Sania Feagin made a cutting layup at the 8:21 mark off an assist from Allemand, matching her season high in assists with six

The Sparks began the quarter on an 11-2 run, building a 37-24 lead with 6:22 left in the half

Forward Rickea Jackson completed a three-point play at the 2:54 mark, giving the Sparks a 15 point lead

Los Angeles took a 59-34 lead, their largest advantage of the game and the season thus far, after Hamby scored the last 10 points of the half. Hamby scored a game-high 18 points in the half, and her 12 in the second quarter represent her most in a quarter this season

In the first half, Los Angeles score 19 points off turnovers compared to Washington's 3

The Sparks held a 30-16 paint points advantage in the half, shooting 55.3% overall and 50.0% from three. Los Angeles also shot 91.7% (11-for-12) from the free-throw line

The Sparks' 59 points and 21 made field goals in the first half mark their most for each in a half this season

Third Quarter:

Jackson opened up the third quarter with a two-point shot at the 9:41 mark from a Hamby assist

Stevens drained the Sparks' first three-pointer of the second half with 5:11 left in the third quarter

Plum hits a two point pullup jump shot at the 0:32 mark, increasing the Sparks lead to 79-57 to end the third quarter

Jackson scored a game-high 11 points in the third, going 5-for-5 from the floor

Plum had three assists in the third quarter contributing to six of the 20 points scored

Los Angeles shot 50.0% in the quarter, assisting on six of their nine made shots

Fourth Quarter:

At the 9:12 mark, Plum scored the first points of the fourth quarter with a three-pointer off an assist from guard Julie Vanloo

Feagin's layup with 24 seconds left gave the Sparks a season high in points with 99

Forward-center Azurá Stevens recorded a game-high four rebounds in the fourth

The Sparks shot 53.3% in the final quarter and 51.5% in the second half

Main Takeaways:

The Sparks recorded season highs in points (99), assists (28) and field goals made (38), shooting 53.5% from the field and 39.1% from beyond the arc

Kelsey Plum scored 20 points (7-for-13 FG, 3-for-5 3PT, 3-for-3 FT) with six assists and three steals

Julie Allemand set her season high in assists with 10 and committed just one turnover. She also posted a game-high +22 rating

Dearica Hamby matched her season high in field goals made with 10. The forward tallied a game-high 26 points, just two away from her season-high and three from her career high

Rickea Jackson recorded 22 points with nine made field goals, three rebounds, two assists, one steal and one block with a +15 rating

Los Angeles had 58 points in the paint, 24 more than Washington (58-34), and had a 27-1 lead

Sania Feagin set her career high in points scored with eight and made field goals with four. The forward also recorded one rebound and one block

Postgame Press Conference Quotes:

Head Coach Lynne Roberts

On Julie Allemand:

"Julie has been unbelievable. [Tonight], she's had...10 assists and one turnover. She's had, I think, 25 assists and two turnovers in the last three to four games. That's just ridiculous... She just calms us down... She was +22 today and scored three points. That's hard to do, right? So, her value cannot be understated."

On dealing with adversity:

"That's a huge emphasis of what we're trying to do. So, I'm proud of us. I'm proud of these guys for sticking with the process, because it's hard. Adversity's hard, and it challenges you, and it shows you what you're really made of, and we're not done. But I do feel like, to your point, things are starting to click."

How important this win was going into All-Star weekend:

"I think you saw how bad we wanted this one, right?... It's been a tough first part of the season, and it feels really good to play two games in a row well and to get a winning streak going and to protect our home court. It certainly does make the break a little more fun, but we know we're not done. My job during this break is to figure out where we need to get better and really look at it and study it and figure out where our deficiencies are and what we're really doing well, and lean in on that and all those things. So, I'm happy, and it certainly makes the break better. I'm really proud of these guys, but I really am going to keep my foot on the gas and make sure that our team is the same."

Kelsey Plum

On keeping the momentum past the All-Star break:

"It's great to start the break on a win, right? And I just think, obviously, people's schedule's been pretty crazy, just for everyone in the league. So resting, get your body right and then, obviously, we play Washington in Washington to start the break. So they're going to come at us differently, we know that, so just being prepared for that. But in the meantime, I think it's really good to just get mentally, physically, emotionally away, to be able to reset and come back. But just remembering how these feelings feel, you know, winning, building off of that, playing super collectively. I thought tonight was our best. I know the numbers back it up, but in terms of, like, our pace and the way we shared the ball, the way we moved. We got great shots, we got great quality shots, so just gotta continue to do that, and defensively, like Rickea [Jackson] said, 'Fly around, be super physical, and we want to really protect home court.' So this is a great opportunity to start to build on that."

On Cheryl Miller attending Tuesday's game:

"Cheryl [Miller] has just been tremendous. I have a previous relationship with her... So, it's funny because... during the first media [timeout], I look over, I see her, and I'm like, 'Why [didn't] you tell me you're coming to the game,' [and] she said 'I didn't want to bother you,' and I'm like, 'you would never bother me.' I think it's super important to just hold onto wisdom, someone [that has] won at the highest levels, is one of the greatest players to ever play our game. When you're a great player, I think you see the game differently... I just asked her to keep staying in my ear and Lisa [Leslie], also. I asked her to stay in contact with me too because I think that they bring a ton of wisdom and insight into trying to win at the highest level here, which is ultimately what I want to do. So, it was really great. She's an amazing human being."

Rickea Jackson

On success during games:

"Just being aggressive from the jump, getting downhill, I feel like that's....When I'm playing my best basketball, when I'm being aggressive from the jump, not overthinking and just taking what the defense would give me, but doing it with pace, and again, when we're flying around on both ends of the floor, our pace and moving the ball as we do, we are gonna play good. We have three people with 20 points and Azurá [Stevens scored] 15. That's just what we do when we're doing it on both ends like that, and it's just fun basketball."

On the team coming together:

"We're just learning each other, coming down, like [Kelsey Plum said] do you need space, or you need a screen? I feel like that just comes with experience and learning each other. So I feel like for the team, spacing is great. We're able to create our own shot, we're athletic, we're able to get to the rim, so spacing is a really good thing for us when we need it, and if we're not, we can capitalize in other ways, but definitely spacing helps us a lot."

On playing with more intensity the last few games:

"I feel like we've been starting [to get hot] on the defensive end. We've been letting our defense dictate our offense, and I feel like when we're doing that, the offensive end is really fun, we look really good, and I feel like tonight, especially in the first half, we were really disrupting them, not letting them do what they want to do. Coach Lynne was just saying, 'Come out and punch first, don't wait, don't be too comfortable, get up in them early,' When we're aggressive from the jump, we're really good."

What's Next?:

With the first half of the season complete, the Sparks head into the WNBA All-Star break having won three of four and two in a row. After the break, the team hits the road for a three-game East Coast trip, beginning with a rematch against the Washington Mystics July 22 at 4:30 p.m. PT. The road swing continues with matchups against the Connecticut Sun July 24 at 4 p.m. PT and the New York Liberty July 26 at 4 p.m. PT.

Check out the Los Angeles Sparks Statistics



Women's National Basketball Association Stories from July 16, 2025


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central