Sparks' Balanced Attack Clips Wings
Published on August 15, 2025 under Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA)
Los Angeles Sparks News Release
Los Angeles Sparks (16-17) at Dallas Wings (9-25)
Game 33 | Aug. 15, 2025 | College Park Center | Arlington, TX | ION
Game Leaders:
Sparks
PTS - Kelsey Plum (28)
REB - Dearica Hamby (10)
AST - Julie Allemand (10)
Wings
PTS - Paige Bueckers (29)
REB - Myisha Hines-Allen (7)
AST - JJ Quinerly (9)
First Quarter:
Guard Kelsey Plum opened up the game with a two-point basket at the 9:56 mark
Forward Rickea Jackson drained the first three-pointer of the match off an assist from forward Dearcia Hamby at the 9:24 mark
Hamby went on a 10 point scoring run from 8:33 to 6:54 to increase the Sparks' lead, 15-6
Forward-center Azurá Stevens beat the shot-clock buzzer with a reverse layup, giving Los Angeles a 17-13 lead with 3:56 left in the opening quarter
Plum buried two three-pointers on back-to-back Sparks possessions to make the score 27-19, advantage LA
Hamby finished the first quarter with a game-high 14 points (5-for-8 FG, 1-for-1 3PT, 3-for-3 FT)
In the first quarter, Plum scored 10 points making all of her shots (3-for-3 FG, 2-for-2 3PT, 2-for-2 FT)
The Sparks shot 64.7% (11-for-17 FG) from the floor and went 5-for-7 from beyond the arc in the quarter. Los Angeles also led by as many as nine and never trailed. The Sparks assisted on 10 of their 11 field goals, committing just one turnover
Second Quarter:
Plum converted an eight-foot pullup jump shot to open second-quarter scoring for LA
Guard-forward Rae Burrell scored her first points of the game with a driving layup to restore the Sparks' lead, 36-34
With 4:44 left in the first half, Jackson sank a triple off an assist from guard Julie Allemand to increase the Sparks' lead, 39-36. Shortly after, Stevens joined the three-point scoring with a 24-foot knockdown triple, also assisted by Allemand
Another triple from Stevens at the 2:11 mark pushed the Sparks lead back to nine. Los Angeles' largest lead in the half was 11, while Dallas never led
Allemand assisted on 11 of the Sparks' 21 points in the second quarter. Her eight assists in the first half mark a career high for a half. She had zero turnovers
Hamby scored 16 in the first half, while Jackson poured in 13 and Plum contributed 12
The Sparks led the Wings 53-50 at halftime, shooting 47.5% from the floor, 57.1% from beyond the arc and 100% from the free-throw line. Los Angeles recorded 15 assists and just five turnovers
Third Quarter:
Allemand knocked down back-to-back triples, marking the Sparks' first made field goals of the second half and extending their lead to 61-54 at the 7:35 mark
Hamby converted an and-one to give the Sparks their largest lead of the game to that point at 12, with 6:04 remaining in the third quarter
Stevens drove her way to the basket to end a 7-0 Dallas run at the 4:37 mark, making the score 68-61, Los Angeles
Out of the timeout, Stevens added another Sparks and-one, bringing LA's lead back to 12
With only 11 seconds left in the third quarter, Plum completed a layup off an assist from Allemand
In the third quarter, Allemand tallied 10 points (4-for-7 FG, 2-for-4 3PT)
Los Angeles limited Dallas to 31.6% from the field and 16.7% from deep in the third. The Sparks scored 10 points off the Wings' seven turnovers
The 80 points by the LA Sparks are the most they've scored through three quarters since August 25, 2024, and only the 18th time in franchise history they've scored at least 80 points through three quarters
Fourth Quarter:
With a running layup at the 8:40 mark, Allemand scored the Sparks' first points of the final quarter
In the next Sparks possession, Plum buried a three-pointer to give Los Angeles their largest lead of the game, 85-70
With only 1:03 left in the game, Plum made a jump shot via an Allemand assist to make the score 97-91, Sparks advantage
Plum led the game in scoring in the final quarter with 11 points, and Brink secured a team-high four rebounds
Main Takeaways:
The Sparks shot 44.0% both from the field and three-point range, and 80% (20-for-25 FT) from the free-throw line in a contest where they led by as many as 16 points and never trailed. Los Angeles also matched its season high with 15 offensive rebounds and outscored Dallas 15-5 in second-chance points and 17-9 on the fast break
With 28 points (9-for-17 FG, 3-for-5 3PT), Kelsey Plum set the Sparks record for most 20+ point performances in a single season with 20
Kelsey Plum (2025) - 20
Nneka Ogwumike (2017) - 19
Nneka Ogwumike (2023) - 18
Nneka Ogwumike (2016) - 18
Lisa Leslie (2006) - 17
In the second quarter, Plum reached the 4,000-point mark in her WNBA career. The guard recorded a game-high 28 points (9-for-17 FG, 3-for-5 3PT, 7-for-10 FT), five assists, three rebounds and two steals
Dearica Hamby surpassed Napheesa Collier and Crystal Langhorne for sole possession of 28th on the all-time double-doubles list with her 52nd. She finished with 20 points (7-for-13 FG, 1-for-1 3PT, 5-for-6 FT), a game-high 10 rebounds and team-high +13 rating. After her fifth rebound in the third quarter, Hamby took sole possession of 25th all-time in REB
With one steal this evening, Hamby is tied for Top 10 in steals in franchise history. The 11th-year veteran is now the fourth player in WNBA history to record multiple seasons with 500+ points, 250+ rebounds and 100+ assists, joining legends Candace Parker (6), Tamika Catchings (4) and Breanna Stewart (3)
Azurá Stevens tied Alana Beard for seventh in franchise history with two blocks. She also tallied 15 points and seven rebounds
Julie Allemand earned her second career double-double with a season-high 12 points (5-for-8 FG, 2-for-4 FG) and a game-high 10 assists. She also notched a career-high four steals in a game-high 36 minutes
Cameron Brink grabbed a season-high seven rebounds in just 12 minutes, recording three blocks and one steal. The second-year forward is tied for the fifth-fastest to 50 blocks in WNBA history after recording three Friday:
T-1. Margo Dydek/Brittney Griner - 16 Games
3. Candace Parker - 20 Games
4. Elena Baranova - 22 Games
T-5. CAMERON BRINK/Lisa Leslie/Breanna Stewart/Kiah Stokes - 23 Games
Rickea Jackson recorded a stat line of 15 points, five rebounds, two assists and one steal, while Rae Burrell tied her season high in steals with two. Jackson matched her career high with four offensive rebounds
Pregame Quotes:
Head Coach Lynne Roberts
On limiting pressure to win:
"I don't feel pressure about winning or losing. I feel pressure about achieving, which I know sounds weird, but I want to achieve. And in our world, that's winning. At the end of the day, I think you just [need to] have perspective. We get to coach basketball, we get to play basketball. If you read the news, there are a lot of things going on out there in the world that are a lot harder and [come with] a lot more pressure than what I have to deal with, or what [Kelsey Plum] deals with...Understanding that there are things out of your control [and] things in your control, you just gotta keep pushing. But, pressure is not something that I really feel."
On Azurá Stevens' improvement this season:
"She's been huge. I think I have gotten better at figuring out how to use her too. As her usage rate has continued to grow, her numbers [have gone up], I'm trying to figure out better ways to get her shots. For opposing defenses, it's really hard because she's gonna be guarded by another big, and they're not used to guarding a shooter. But also as somebody that can post up, she's got incredible hands, she can catch anything. She's playing at such a high level. For me, it's exciting because I feel like she still has room to do more. I don't think I've completely gotten everything out of her potential, and so that's exciting. That's fun as a coach to know that you have a toy that can just keep doing more and more things [with]. But she's been just a joy to coach. She's so easy, low-maintenance, plays hard, shows up the same way every single day. So it's fun to see those types of guys get rewarded with the season that she's having."
On how Dallas has changed since the Sparks last played the Wings:
"This is what I will tell you, what I've learned, that it doesn't matter what the records say, every team can beat anybody- every single one. And that's different. Everybody is really good, and the players are so good. Right now, Dallas is playing a little more confidently. They play hard. [Paige Bueckers] does change them in terms of what she's able to do, and I know they have her at the two guard a lot, just so she doesn't have to have that pressure of being the one all the time. But she's gonna have the ball in her hands a lot, and she's always a threat at three levels. They're better than they were. They continue to get better. I think Chris [Koclanes] has done a good job. They've had a lot of roster turnover; that's hard. But they definitely have our attention. I think our team's different too. I mean, we didn't have...[Cameron Brink], we didn't have [Rae Burrell], we didn't have [Julie Allemond], like, we were a different team, too. So, it's kind of new teams playing each other tonight."
Postgame Quotes:
Head Coach Lynne Roberts
On what the Sparks did well tonight against the Dallas Wings:
"I thought Dallas played well. You have to give them credit. We had a couple runs, a couple double-digit leads. They showed some toughness, and executed well, so give them credit. They prepared, they ran good stuff. Our ball movement in that fourth quarter... the ball got a little sticky, meaning it wasn't hitting sidelines, not everyone was touching it, we gotta get better. Julie Allemand, it's impossible to take her off the floor. She got a couple really key steals. 10 assists, four steals - to have a steadying force like that at your point guard spot is so valuable. [Dallas] shot it really well. They cooled off a little bit in the second half from three, which was great. But yeah, it was just a hard-fought game, a game of runs. I thought in that fourth quarter down the stretch, we kind of played not to lose instead of playing to win by 15. We didn't have the killer mentality, so that's something I know we need to [fix]."
On how difficult it is to contain Paige Bueckers:
"She's a good player, she's a great player. She's more athletic than she gets credit for. She can elevate on her shot and she's really shifty, so it's hard to keep her in front. And she got going there [offensively], and they were running a lot of stuff for her. She's a tough matchup, but we've got tough matchups, too. It's just part of the game, everybody in this league is good. She's gonna be a star, and she just keeps getting better. We'll play them again in less than a week, so we get to, maybe, do a better job on her next time."
On Dearica Hamby's recent performance:
"She's a tough matchup because she's more of a four than a five. That's her strength, but getting her in space is where she's effective. If she can get a little pocket pass 10 feet from the hoop, she's miserable to try to guard, keep in front, she can finish with both hands, she's super athletic and strong. So I think just understanding where she thrives, and trying to get her in those situations. I thought in the first half, they changed how they were defending our ball screens because [Dearica Hamby] was just getting pocket passes and scoring around the rim. And lastly, she just plays hard. She pursues every rebound. She runs the floor, she's just a competitor, and it's just someone that you just rely on. She had 20 and 10, but it was quiet, right? And that's when you know you're a really good player. When 20 and 10 is like, 'yeah, that's what she does.' I think that just speaks to her experience and talent."
Azurá Stevens:
On what it took to close out this win:
"I think just mental toughness, you know? They had an incredible run in the fourth, and it's not easy to withstand that and still come out and pull out the win. [It came] literally all the way down to the last second... [but] we were all connected on the court. We've got to clean up defensively, but I think it's a good team win for us."
On what it's like to play with Julie Allemand:
"It's great. I think she's one of the last true point guards in the league, to be honest. We both played with [Courtney Vandersloot], and she reminds me so much of her with just the way that she's able to control the game, especially from an offensive standpoint, and getting the ball moving. That's a rarity in this league, so we're so lucky to have her here, and a lot of that calmness comes from having a point guard that knows how to control the game. It just speaks to her maturity [and knowing how to] get us moving, get us in sets, knowing when to run certain things, having a mind to be able to call a play for a certain player. That's huge, so it's a pleasure to play with her."
Julie Allemand
On Coach Roberts' expectations of her:
"I know that she wants me to do what I can do [and] just be myself on the court, organized, but also be aggressive, and I think today I was a little bit more aggressive. We have [11] more games. It's almost the end, but it's still a lot of games, so, game after game, we're gonna try to get as many wins as possible. I'm just gonna keep believing in myself, because I know that my team believes in me."
On playing with Azurá Stevens:
"I know her because we played together in Chicago, so I know how she plays on the court and what she can bring to the team. We have a play that I like to run for her because I know it works most of the time. So when she's on the court and I see she's not getting the ball I'm 'okay, let's run that for her' because I know [it will probably work]. But it's nice to play with her because she understands the game. She's gonna fight until the end, so it's been a pleasure to be with her on the court. I think we both want to win, and I like to play with those kinds of players."
What's Next?:
The Sparks head to the nation's capital for a showdown with the Mystics Aug. 17 (12 p.m. PT), then return to Los Angeles for a primetime rematch against the Wings Aug. 20 (7 p.m. PT) at Crypto.com Arena.
Women's National Basketball Association Stories from August 15, 2025
- Las Vegas Aces Outlast Host Phoenix Mercury, 86-83, for 6th Straight Victory - Las Vegas Aces
- Indiana Fever Defeated at Gainbridge Fieldhouse - Indiana Fever
- Sparks' Balanced Attack Clips Wings - Los Angeles Sparks
- Los Angeles Sparks Edge Dallas Wings, 97-96 - Dallas Wings
- Game Preview: Valkyries vs. Dream - Golden State Valkyries
- Valkyries Make WNBA Expansion History with 18th Regular Season Win - Golden State Valkyries
- Atlanta Dream Sign Forward Sika Koné to Rest-Of-Season Contract - Atlanta Dream
- Chicago Sky, State Farm Announce Englewood Public Basketball Court Refurbishment - Chicago Sky
- Golden State Valkyries Sign Kaila Charles to a Third Hardship Contract - Golden State Valkyries
- Sky Return Home to Host Valkyries - Chicago Sky
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