Sparks Eclipse Sun with Season-High 101 Points, Win Fourth Straight
WNBA Los Angeles Sparks

Sparks Eclipse Sun with Season-High 101 Points, Win Fourth Straight

July 24, 2025 - Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA)
Los Angeles Sparks News Release


Los Angeles Sparks (10-14) at Connecticut Sun (3-20)

Game Leaders:

Sparks

PTS - Kelsey Plum (30)

REB - Dearica Hamby (11)

AST - Kelsey Plum (6)

Sun

PTS - Tina Charles (24)

REB - Tina Charles (10)

AST - Leïla Lacan (6)

First Quarter:

Forward-center Azurá Stevens opened the scoring in the game with a triple via an assist by guard Kelsey Plum

Plum made her first attempt of the game, a three-pointer, to give the Sparks a 6-5 lead at the 8:15 mark. Guard Julie Allemand assisted on the play, her second assist of the contest

The Sparks went on a 6-0 run to take an 18-17 lead with 3:13 remaining in the quarter

Plum (8 PTS, 3-for-5 FG, 2-for-4 3PT) and forward Dearica Hamby (7 PTS, 3-for-4 FG) led the Sparks in scoring, while Allemand and Plum led the team in assists

There were 11 lead changes in the first quarter, and the Sparks shot 52.9% (9-for-17) from the floor

Second Quarter:

Guard Julie Vanloo scored the first two baskets of the quarter with two three-pointers to give the Sparks a 28-27 lead. Forward Rickea Jackson and Hamby recorded the assists

Los Angeles began the second quarter on a 10-0 run to take a 32-27 lead with 6:55 to play in the half

Guard-forward Rae Burrell tallied her first points of the game with a running layup at the 4:50 mark

In the first half, Plum, Hamby and Stevens each scored 11 points

Hamby secured a game-high seven rebounds, while Allemand dished a game-high four assists in the opening half

The trio of Plum, Stevens and Vanloo combined to shoot 7-for-12 from three in the first two quarters

The Sparks shot 44.7% from the field and 38.9% from beyond the arc

Third Quarter:

Stevens recorded the Sparks' first field goal of the third with a three-pointer via a Plum assist at the 8:34 mark, returning the lead to Los Angeles, 50-48

Plum's six-footer gave the Sparks their largest lead of the game, 71-59, at 2:24 left in the quarter

Forward Emma Cannon made her first points of the game with a cutting layup off an assist from Hamby with 39 seconds left in the third

The trio of Plum (11 PTS, 4-for-5 FG, 3-for-3 FT), Allemand (9 PTS, 3-for-3 FG, 3-for-4 FT) and Hamby (7 PTS, 2-for-2 FG) combined for 27 points in the third quarter

The third quarter featured four lead changes and a tie

The Sparks outscored the Sun in the paint, 20-8, in the third quarter

Fourth Quarter:

Plum scored the Sparks' first points of the final quarter with a three-pointer at the 6:59 mark

Plum was perfect shooting in the final quarter going 2-for-2 in field goals, 2-for-2 in three pointers and 2-for-2 in free throws. She scored a game-high eight points in the fourth

In the second half, the Sparks outrebounded the Sun 18-9 on the defensive glass

The Sparks scored a season-high 56 points in the second half, going 16-for-26 from the field

Main Takeaways:

The Sparks won their fourth consecutive game, tied with the Liberty for the longest active streak in the WNBA, and five of their past six contests. Los Angeles scored a season-high 101 points, shooting 52.4% from the field and 42.9% from deep

Los Angeles has scored 90+ points in four consecutive games, matching its longest streak in franchise history and its longest streak since July 2-11, 2013

Kelsey Plum recorded a game-high 30 points (10-for-15 FG, 4-for-7 3PT, 6-for-7 FT), six assists and two steals. It was Plum's eighth career game with at least 30 points. Plum joined Candace Parker and Lisa Leslie as the only Sparks with multiple games of 30 points and five assists in a single season

With 20 points (8-for-9 FG) and a game-high 11 rebounds, Dearica Hamby tallied her 49th career double-double. The forward also had a game-high +28 rating and had two assists and one steal

In her 200th career WNBA game, Azurá Stevens reached the 2,000-point mark in her career. She scored 17 points (5-for-12 FG, 4-for-7 3PT, 3-for-4 FT) and grabbed eight rebounds. Her four assists matched a season high, and she also recorded three blocks and two steals

Julie Allemand scored a season-high 12 points and matched her career high in rebounds with eight. She also had a +12 rating, four assists and two steals. Allemand finished with a +24 rating

Julie Vanloo contributed nine points on 3-for-4 three-point shooting in 16 minutes

Pregame Quotes:

Head Coach Lynne Roberts

On what Latricia Trammell brings to the Sparks' coaching staff:

"I love the staff I have, but we didn't have a ton of WNBA experience, you know? Mike Neighbors was a long-time college head coach, me too. [Danielle Robinson] was a long-time All-Star player here. But, I didn't have any [WNBA] coaching experience, and Zak Buncik was in Dallas for a couple years, and so we had brought in [Latricia Trammell] as a consultant for the beginning of the season just to help... So, she's been around, and then at the end of the All-Star break, I did a deep dive as to where we're doing well. We're top four in every offensive category, and we're bottom three in most defensive ones. So, if we want to make a legit push to the playoffs, we've gotta improve defensively, and as a consultant, we have one of the best defensive coaches in the league, so that was the genesis for that. She's gonna have a big role with our defense, and she's not front of the bench, but she can still have a lot of impact, and coming up with game plans, and she knows the opposing players better than we do... So, I can tell [there is] an impact, and even on Tuesday, [after] 24 hours of her influence, we were better."

On Kelsey Plum and Dearica Hamby's leadership:

"[Kelsey Plum]'s learning... obviously in college, she was the head of the snake at Washington, but with her time in Vegas, she was the second, third, fourth option. She's playing with four Olympians. She was a stud there, and an impact player, but it wasn't necessarily her team, right? And I think she was ready for that challenge, which is why she's in L.A. But she's a competitor at heart, and she'll say what needs to be said. Whether you like it or not, she's gonna say it, and you need to have somebody like that. And then you have Dearica [Hamby], who everybody calls Mama D because she's just such a sweetheart and a caretaker, so it's a good kind of yin and yang with those two. They work really well together, both on and off the court in that regard."

Postgame Press Conference Quotes:

Head Coach Lynne Roberts

On the Sparks' winning streak on the road after the All-Star break:

"We've been playing pretty well, and it's really good to have players back, I think Julie Vanloo has added a boost. She brings a lot of energy, and... Julie [Allemand] has done a tremendous job of leading the way. She played 32 minutes, and she was plus 24 in those 32 minutes. That's elite... [Kelsey Plum] was great tonight, she put us on her back scoring. Rickea [Jackson] had a tougher night shooting. She's been shooting the ball really well, and that happens, where it's not your night shooting. I thought she was good defensively, but KP carried us. Dearica [Hamby shot] 8-for-9. Our big guys just keep showing up, and Julie is just kind of that calming force out there, but she was aggressive tonight. So, all to say, I'm happy that we're figuring it out, and we're starting to play a little more fluidly, and that just comes with continuity in our roster, and continuity on the court, and time together."

On Rae Burrell's impact on Thursday's game:

" I thought Rae [Burrell] did a good job. She's so athletic, and I always say that, but that is her superpower, she's just long and bouncy and active, right? I thought she played with confidence; she didn't shoot the ball great, but that doesn't show the impact of the game. It's great to have her. It's nice to have some depth where if someone's not shooting it well, you have someone else to come in... and Rae's coming along. She looks good, and you can tell she's in the flow now. Coming back from injury is hard. It takes a while to get your sea legs, but I feel like she's back and doing well."

Azurá Stevens

On recording 2,000 career points:

"[I'm] just grateful. I'm grateful for my teammates always setting me up, hitting me in the right spots, and I just knock down shots, but it's obviously a great accomplishment, so I'm proud of myself, and more proud that we're on a roll and we got the win."

On winning habits coming from championship teams:

"Our defense has been improving and that's how you win championships... Our offense has come along too, but defensively, we've been able to withstand people's runs and get stops in crucial moments. I think that's the biggest thing, and... that's gonna be really huge for us... We got Rae [Burrell] back... Julie Vanloo coming, we got Julie [Allemand] back. It's been great. It's been great having everybody come in and contribute, so I think the more we continue to play together, it's only gonna be good for us."

Julie Allemand

On the Sparks offense creating space for her to drive:

"It depends on the game... Every game [is] different... Sometimes it's harder. I just think that my job as a [point guard] is always to read the defense. That's [why] I'm trying to do as much as I can, and sometimes it's easier to go until the end, sometimes it's easier to get the [three pointers], it depends. Like Coach said today, I was a little bit more aggressive, and I know that when I'm aggressive, I'm helping the team too. I know I need to keep improving, and trust myself that I can go until the end, because most of the time, I want to pass the ball, and I think that sometimes I can also finish it."

On playing with Kelsey Plum, who scored a game-high tonight 30 points:

"It's amazing when she's playing like that, I feel like it's easy to play, you know? We don't have to force anything. She was hot, so when it's like that, you just want to give her the ball and do the job, because it looks so easy... She was playing well, but I think it's a team win, and when we play as a team, that's always when it's easier to get the win."

What's Next?:

The Sparks conclude their East Coast trip with a matchup against the New York Liberty July 26 at 4 p.m. PT before returning to Crypto.com Arena to face the Las Vegas Aces July 29 at 7 p.m. PT.

Check out the Los Angeles Sparks Statistics



Women's National Basketball Association Stories from July 24, 2025


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