Sparks Gameday Notes
September 18, 2024 - Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA)
Los Angeles Sparks News Release
Postgame Notes
Game 38: Phoenix Mercury (19-20) at Los Angeles Sparks (7-32)
September 17, 2024
Attendance: 11,294
Team Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final Points Rebounds Assists
Sparks 14 30 10 27 81 Dearica Hamby (21) Li Yueru (12) Crystal Dangerfield (5)
Mercury 14 22 28 21 85 Sophie Cunningham/ Brittney Griner (14) Celeste Taylor (5) Natasha Cloud (12)
First Quarter:
Rae Burrell scored the Sparks' first basket of the game with a step through layup
Dearica Hamby got on the board with a layup to even the score, 6-6
Crystal Dangerfield hit Los Angeles' first three-pointer of the contest, courtesy of Stephanie Talbot...the Sparks' next basket came from Li Yueru who also drained a triple, giving LA a 12-10 lead
Rickea Jackson entered the scoring column with two free throws to tie the score at 14
The competitive first quarter featured six ties and four lead changes
Second Quarter:
Li Yueru began second-quarter scoring with a layup following her offensive rebound, giving Los Angeles a two-point lead at 16-14
Rickea Jackson converted her first midrange shot of the game, making it 18-14 Sparks. In the quarter, Jackson poured in six points (2-for-6 FG, 2-for-2 FT)
Crystal Dangerfield's lefty reverse layup extended L.A.'s advantage to 26-21
Dearica Hamby completed an and-1, giving the Sparks their largest lead of the game, 28-21. Hamby posted nine points (3-for-6 FG, 3-for-5 FT) in the first half while also adding six boards and one assist
Zia Cooke drilled back-to-back-to-back three-pointers, extending the Sparks' lead to 43-27. With three three-pointers in about a minute and a half of game action, the second-year guard set a career high for made triples in a game
Brittney Griner and Rickea Jackson were both ejected from the game with 4.6 seconds remaining in the half
Third Quarter:
Dearica Hamby opened third-quarter scoring for the Sparks with a layup despite getting fouled, giving the Sparks a 46-43 lead
Li Yueru secured an offensive rebound and put it back in to even the score at 48
Kia Nurse scored her first basket of the night, off a backdoor pass by Yueru, making it 64-52
The Sparks scored 10 points in the period, their season low for a third quarter
Fourth Quarter:
The Sparks' first points of the fourth quarter came from a pair of made free throws by Li Yueru, putting Los Angeles within ten at 66-56
Dearica Hamby scored a transition three-pointer, assisted by Crystal Dangerfield, cutting the Mercury lead to 71-59. Hamby added 10 points in the last quarter, along with two steals and one assist and rebound
Kia Nurse sank a triple to cut the Sparks deficit to single digits, 71-64
Hamby hit a triple to bring the Sparks within five points, 79-74
Hamby scored a game-high 10 points in the quarter, while Yueru paced all players in the period with five rebounds
Main Takeaways:
Dearica Hamby became the fourth WNBA player ever to reach 300 defensive rebounds in a season, also reaching 1,500 career defensive rebounds in the contest. She finished the game with 21 points (8-for-15 FG, 2-for-3 3PT), nine rebounds and two steals
Hamby averaged 24.5 points per game (60.3 FG%, 68.8 3PT%) in four games against the Mercury this season
The Sparks matched a franchise high for offensive rebounds in a regular-season game with 23, matching their offensive rebounding output July 12, 2012, against the Indiana Fever. The team also set a season high with 49 boards
Li Yueru's career-high eight offensive rebounds rank tied for third in Sparks history. Only Nneka Ogwumike and Latasha Byears have ever had more rebounds in a single game as a Spark
Yueru also set a career high in rebounds (12) and matched her career best in field goals made (7), recording her first career double-double
Zia Cooke established a career high with three made three-pointers, sinking all in a ~1:30 span in the second quarter
Stephanie Talbot matched a career high with three blocks, and Kia Nurse set a career high with four offensive rebounds and a season high with seven rebounds
The Sparks close out their season on the road in Minnesota (Sept. 19).
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