Sparks Get 80 Points from Quartet, Defeat Sun
WNBA Los Angeles Sparks

Sparks Get 80 Points from Quartet, Defeat Sun

July 13, 2025 - Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA)
Los Angeles Sparks News Release


Connecticut Sun (3-18) at Los Angeles Sparks (7-14)

Game 21 | July 13, 2025 | Crypto.com Arena | Los Angeles, CA | Spectrum SportsNet

Attendance: 12,184

Game Leaders:

Sun

PTS - Bria Hartley (25)

REB - Tina Charles/Aneesa Morrow (7)

AST - Bria Hartley (6)

Sparks

PTS - Kelsey Plum (23)

REB - Azurá Stevens (11)

AST - Julie Allemand (6)

First Quarter:

Forward Rickea Jackson scored the first Sparks points with a layup at the 8:15 mark, assisted by Dearica Hamby. Jackson assisted forward-center Azurá Stevens on a transition layup during the next Sparks possession

Forward-center Azurá Stevens sank the first three-pointer of the game at the 7:32 mark off an assist from guard Julie Allemand

With 5:20 left in the first quarter, Jackson drained a three-pointer off a Hamby assist to give Los Angeles a 14-12 lead

After checking in with 4:14 left in the first quarter, guard-forward Rae Burrell recorded a rebound and made a driving layup at the 3:48 mark (worth mentioning?)

Jackson scored 11 of the Sparks' 27 points in the first quarter, going 5-6 from the field (83.3%) and 1-for-2 from beyond the arc

The Sparks shot 54.5% from the field in the quarter, assisting on nine of their 12 made field goals. Los Angeles committed just two turnovers and converted 3-for-8 triples

Second Quarter:

Stevens scored the first basket of the second quarter with her second three-pointer of the game at the 9:41 mark

Forward Sania Faegin recorded her first block of the game at the 8:45 mark

Hamby recorded 13 points (6-for-9 FG), four rebounds and three assists in the first half. In the second quarter, the forward posted a game-high nine points on a perfect 4-for-4 shooting

Allemand led the Sparks with five assists in the first half

Jackson led the Sparks in scoring through the first half with 17 points and shot 8-for-10 from the field (80%) with three assists. It was her highest-scoring half of the season

In the first half, Los Angeles was 32-26 over the Sun in points in the paint and had seven fast break points against Connecticut's four

The Sparks shot 50.0% from the floor in the half and tallied 14 assists

There were six ties and four lead changes in the first half

Third Quarter:

Stevens started out the third quarter with a three-pointer at the 8:55 mark, assisted by Plum. On the next possession, she drilled another triple, also assisted by Plum

Stevens scored the Sparks' first eight points of the third, helping Los Angeles take a 55-50 lead with 7:59 left in the quarter

In the third, Plum (3-for-5 FG, 1-for-2 3PT, 2-for-2 FT) scored nine, while Stevens (3-for-4 FG, 2-for-3 3PT) recorded eight points and three rebounds, including three of the offensive variety

With only 10 seconds left in the quarter, Burrell made a layup off a Jackson assist to break the tie

Fourth Quarter:

Burrell opened the fourth quarter with a jumpshot off an assist from guard Sarah Ashlee Barker at the 8:57 mark

Plum drained the first triple of the quarter at the 7:28 mark, giving the Sparks a 74-71 lead. The All-Star guard had nine points (3-for-4 FG, 1-for-2 3PT, 2-for-2 FT) in the fourth

Allemand sank her first three-pointer of the game off a Stevens assist with 5:34 left in the fourth

Stevens recorded a game-high five rebounds in the fourth

In the second half, the Sparks outscored the Sun 18-8 paint points, outrebounded their opponents 20-10 and had three more assists (8-5)

Main Takeaways:

Kelsey Plum recorded 23 points (8-for-14 FG, 3-for-7 3PT, 4-for-4 FT), three assists, two steals, one rebound and posted a +10 rating. She moved into sole possession of 15th on the WNBA's all-time three-pointers made list with the 537th triple of her career in the first quarter

With her seventh rebound of the game, Dearica Hamby passed Chamique Holdsclaw for 28th on the WNBA's all-time rebounds list. Hamby finished with 17 points (7-for-13 FG), 7 four assists, two steals and had a +10 rating

In her 50th career start, Rickea Jackson notched 19 points, six rebounds and four assists. The second-year forward also tallied a new season-high in blocks with two

Azurá Stevens recorded her seventh double-double this season with 21 points (7-for-17 FG, 5-for-8 3PT) and 11 rebounds, matching her career high with seven offensive rebounds. The forward-center also had two steals, one block and an assist

Julie Allemand contributed five points and four rebounds. The Belgian-guard also matched her season high in assists (6) and steals (2) while finishing with a game-high +13 rating

Rae Burrell recorded a season high in points scored with seven and field goals made with three, making all three of her attempts. The guard-forward also recorded her first assist of the season and had two rebounds

Jackson, Plum and Stevens combined for 63 of the Sparks' 92 points (68.4%)

The Sparks set a season high with 15 offensive rebounds and matched their season best in field goals made (35), shooting 46.7% from the floor. Los Angeles also had four players score at least 15 points for the third time this season (L.A. has won two of those three games)

With the 92-88 victory Sunday, the Sparks snapped their 13-game losing streak against the Sun, beating them for the first time since Aug. 28, 2020

Pregame Quotes:

Head Coach Lynne Roberts

On the challenges the Sun pose:

"They've got one of the best players in the history of our game, Tina Charles. She's really good... I think she's the second all-time leading scorer in the league. For me, watching them, they go as she goes, and it's not just that she's playing well and scoring. Everybody plays with a little more swagger, a little more confidence, a little more aggressiveness. So our challenge is to try to slow her down. You're not going to hold the second-leading scorer to zero, but we've got to be locked in... and it's got to be five of us out there defending them, but knowing that she's kind of the engine of that group."

On keeping the team focused before the All-Star break:

"Maybe Tuesday's game would bring a little of that more, potentially, but what I do love about this group is... they want to succeed. They want to get this franchise back where it belongs, and we will get it there. We will. But it's a process, and so you cannot think about a break when you're trying to prove yourself and establish yourself in this league. So, my hope is that we look at it as 'Let's empty the tank for 48 hours, 72 hours, and then enjoy the break.' That's how I'm approaching it. But it's really not that they get a ton of time either. It's four days... which is, in this league... an eternity. But we need to take care of business and be present."

On Stevens' influence on the team and the scouting report on Leila Lacan:

"Azurá [Stevens] has been amazing and just steady. She didn't have a great game individually against Minnesota, and I know that ticked her off, so I anticipate her to be extra locked in today. I've described her as the linchpin. When she's scoring, I think we're really good offensively [and] when she's defending the way she's capable of, blocking shots and rebounding, we're really good defensively. So she's been kind of [an] X-factor for us in that regard...She's for the team, she's about the team, she's about winning, so she's been phenomenal for us. Lacan, she's played three games, and you can see her role [in] every game getting bigger and bigger. She plays with so much energy and life. She's a great defender, super active and athletic, and she kind of reminds me of our Rae Burrell in terms of how she plays. You can tell that she's a good fit for their system, and with Rachid [Meziane], she's going to be a good player for them."

Postgame Press Conference Quotes:

Head Coach Lynne Roberts

On Rae Burrell working her way back into the lineup:

"She brings energy. In our locker room, she brings energy when she's there and I think that matters. You can see that on the floor too, she's just the energizer bunny... But Rae [Burrell] puts pressure on the defense, puts pressure on the rim. She's so athletic, and I feel like she's getting into a groove, and I'm figuring out a rotation with having these guys back. She's long and so athletic and so aggressive, I think you're seeing why she's so valuable to us."

On Dearica Hamby's block at the end of the game:

"I just told the team that was my favorite play of the game. We're up four...they [Sun] are going for a steal...instinct is to just let them get the two, and Dearica sprinted back and blocked it, and that's what winning teams do. That's what a championship mindset is. You have to act that way before it happens. So that's what we've been talking about since the Minnesota game were those kinds of habits.

Azurá Stevens

On winning a tight game down the stretch:

"I think it just shows growth. Like Coach [Lynne Roberts] said, we weren't really rattled. They came back and hit some runs, but we have found a way to answer and I think it shows maturity and growth. I think throughout the season we've seen that sometimes when we get punched by teams like we tend to crumble. But I think today we stuck together and we came back and got stops and then came down and put the pressure on them offensively. So I think it just shows maturity and growth."

On being referred to as 'underrated' by her team and recognition:

"I am so appreciative of my teammates and Coach Lynne [Roberts]. From day one, they've just come in and just believed in me and I think we can see that on the court. They're always finding me in really good spots, so it makes my job easy just to knock in shots and cut and try to find ways to score that way. But, I don't play for [recognition]. I play for the team. I play for the Sparks. I play for my family, myself, just to go out and put on a good show and be consistent. That's been one of my goals coming into this year, is to be consistent. So, respectfully, I don't care what the media thinks. I'm just trying to do my job and play hard for these guys and for other people."

Kelsey Plum

On emphasizing player movement and ball movement for this game:

"I was just trying to be patient, pick my spots, and I think we've gotten better at our spacing. I'm someone that thrives in space. And so just trying to be patient early, give it up, and then, knowing that throughout the game people were hitting shots, and then the lane starts to open up and I'm able to make a wiggle. So [I] was just trying to be patient and trust that it's going to come, and then just try to be like an assassin and strike."

On how she was able to thrive offensively:

"The space. I think we went small, started playing a little bit faster and a little bit more spread out and I thought it was... really good for us... That was the first time we've done it in a live game setting and [there's] not much practice time in the season, so just continuing to build off of that. But again, I thrive in space. That's where my bread and butter is... Like I said earlier, just be patient and then punch the gaps. If the defense commits, kick it, but I think the defense started to get a little bit tight on their man, so I was able to go to the hole."

What's Next?:

The Sparks conclude their three-game homestand and the first half of their season against the Washington Mystics (July 15 at 7 p.m. PT). Following the WNBA All-Star break, the team heads to the East Coast for a three-game road trip: Washington Mystics (July 22 at 4:30 p.m. PT), Connecticut Sun (July 24 at 4 p.m. PT) and New York Liberty (July 26 at 4 p.m. PT).

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