Sparks Postgame Notes & Quotes
Published on June 26, 2025 under Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA)
Los Angeles Sparks News Release
Los Angeles Sparks (5-11) at Indiana Fever (7-8)
Game 16 | June 26, 2025 | Gainbridge Fieldhouse | Indianapolis, IN | Prime Video
Game Leaders:
Sparks
PTS - Azurá Stevens (23)
REB - Azurá Stevens / Dearica Hamby (7)
AST - Kelsey Plum (6)
Fever
PTS - Kelsey Mitchell (20)
REB - Aliyah Boston (10)
AST - Kelsey Mitchell / Sydney Colson (4)
First Quarter:
Forward Rickea Jackson scored the first points of the game with a layup at the 9:46 mark, assisted by forward Dearica Hamby
The Sparks began the game on a 9-0 run, going 4-for-6 from the field and 1-for-1 from the free-throw line during this stretch
Guard Kelsey Plum beat the shot clock with a three-pointer, assisted by forward-center Azurá Stevens, to give the Sparks a 14-9 lead with 5:10 left in the quarter
Jackson drilled a triple, assisted by Plum, to put Los Angeles ahead 18-15 at the 2:54 mark
Jackson led all scorers in the first quarter with eight points on 3-of-4 shooting from the field, 1-for-2 from deep and 1-for-1 on free throws
In the first quarter, Los Angeles shot 50.0% from the field, 40.0% from beyond the arc and 80.0% from the free-throw line. Indiana shot 35.0% from the floor and 16.7% from deep
Fourteen of the Sparks' 20 points in the quarter were assisted. Nine of those points came off assists from Plum
Second Quarter:
Hamby's layup via a Stevens assist at the 3:31 mark was the Sparks' first points of the second quarter
Stevens completed an and-one, assisted by guard Shey Peddy, with 2:07 remaining the half to cut L.A.'s deficit to 31-25
Peddy drained a three-pointer with 49 seconds left in the half, assisted by Plum, to trim the Indiana lead to 31-30, giving the Sparks an 8-0 run. Plum tallied a game-high four assists in the first half
The Sparks had twice as many assists as the Fever in the first half and had five more defensive rebounds (16-11)
Los Angeles held Indiana to 29.7% (11-for-37) shooting from the field and 22.2% (4-for-18) from deep
Third Quarter:
Stevens scored Los Angeles' first points of the third with a layup off a Hamby assist at the 7:49 mark
On the Sparks' next possession, Hamby made a running layup at the 7:27 mark off a Stevens assist
Plum made a three-pointer at 2:43 to shorten the Fever's lead to 46-43
Peddy made a buzzer-beater layup to end the third to make it 58-50, Fever advantage
In the third, Plum scored a team-high six points, while Hamby recorded a game-high three rebounds
Fourth Quarter:
Stevens completed an and-one, assisted by Peddy, at the 9:08 mark to make it 60-53. Stevens also made a layup on the next possession to make it 60-55
Plum finished a layup at the rim to cut Los Angeles' deficit to 66-64. The seventh-year veteran made a three pointer on the next Sparks possession to retake the lead 67-66
Stevens scored 14 of her 23 points in the fourth quarter. The forward-center went 5-for-5 in field goals, 1-for-1 from the three-point line and 3-for-4 in free throws
Hamby had a putback layup with 49 seconds left in the game, giving the Sparks an 81-75 lead
The Sparks scored 35 points in the fourth quarter, their season-high in most points scored in a quarter
The Sparks shot 78.6% (11-for-14) from the field in the fourth quarter
Main Takeaways:
Azurá Stevens scored a game-high 23 points (9-for-12 FG), also contributing seven rebounds and three assists
Kelsey Plum scored 21 points (6-for-11 FG, 3-for-6 3PT) with a +16 rating and recorded a game-high six assists and 50.0%
With forward Dearica Hamby's first defensive rebound of the game, the three-time All-Star passed Tamecka Dixon for sole possession of seventh place on the Sparks' All-Time DREB List. In the game, Hamby totaled 14 points (5-for-8 FG), seven rebounds, five assists and three steals
The Sparks shot 50.0% (29-for-58) from the field compared to the Fever's 36.5% (23-for-63) and had six more assists (19-13)
Rickea Jackson had a game-high +18 rating with 14 points and two rebounds
The Sparks shot 78.6% (11-for-14) from the field and scored 35 points in the fourth quarter, a season high for any quarter
Los Angeles committed zero turnovers in the fourth quarter and four total in the second half
Los Angeles finished the game on a 35-15 run to secure the win
The Sparks improved their record to 40-16 in franchise history against the Fever, a .714 winning percentage
Pregame Quotes:
Head Coach Lynne Roberts
On preparing for the Caitlin Clark-less Fever:
"Well, we found out about five minutes before shootaround today, so we had a game plan and practiced it yesterday. Not having [Caitlin Clark], she's their engine. So it changes what you do, not to say that they don't [have] other great players. But she is the catalyst, so you have to adjust your game plan for that. Luckily, [we found out] before shootaround, so we adapted on the fly. At this point, we need to focus on ourselves and finishing games and doing everything we can to end on the winning side of these close games. And I anticipate tonight will be the same."
On maintaining a positive mindset through a tough stretch:
"I think it's been frustrating. The injuries have been frustrating, the players out have been frustrating, but I'm choosing not to focus on that. If I act frustrated, then how can I expect them to not? So, it really starts with me and the [ownership is] on me to create the tone of our team and how we want things to be. But again, when we're trying to go from last place to making the playoffs, it cannot always be outcome-driven, right? We can't be out of our heads if we win and devastated when we lose. It's got to be, 'Are we going to be better tonight than we were in Chicago? Are we going to be better at rebounding?' Making sure that we have tangible things that the players can focus on... I think you've got to stay pretty consistent, but that starts with me."
Postgame Press Conference Quotes:
Head Coach Lynne Roberts
On tonight's game and points in the paint:
"I thought our ball movement was better, and... when we move the ball, good things happen... It's gonna open up the paint when we move the ball, whether that's coming off of a ball screen, getting an advantage or post-ups, but it was mostly off the... dribble. But it also helps that our posts had big nights. Azurá [Stevens] was huge... we had two offensive rebounds in the last minute and a half, and those are game-winning, game-changing plays... Mercedes [Russell], I thought, was tremendous defensively. Emma [Cannon] came in and did good things defensively. So, I think we were just all very connected, and good things happen for us offensively when we're moving the ball like that."
On the team's growth:
"There was just a more confident intensity to how we were playing. We went up four [points] with a couple minutes to go, and I didn't have in my mind at all any sort of 'Oh no,' and I didn't sense that from the players either... I say it all the time, but there's a difference [between] playing not to lose when you're up four and playing to win when you're up four, and I thought our players played to win, which means you keep attacking, you keep rebounding, keep defending. You don't hope to win, you go grab it, and I thought that was the difference tonight... It takes moments like this for them to understand what it feels like as a group, and we just got to keep building on that."
Kelsey Plum
On effective offense when struggling on defense:
"Coach has been harping just on keeping the ball poppin' and they were switching a ton tonight- we had big mismatches, and so just trying to work the ball around to find the best angle to get it in there. We struggled early trying to make the right pass so the intent was good, and I think as the game went along, we settled down and we got the ball to where we needed to. It was a great collective effort."
On the defense against Aliyah Boston:
"Azurá [Stevens], Dearica [Hamby], Mercedes [Russell], even Emma [Cannon] came in there. It was tremendous, and Aliyah [Boston] should be an All-Star starter. She's had a phenomenal year, extremely efficient, she's super tough on the block, strong, very skilled. She's gotten a lot better, so [I] give a lot of credit to her. It was just a collective effort - throwing bodies, trying to dig when we can. So, it was really cool to be able to capitalize on that because everyone contributed."
Azura Stevens
On her fourth-quarter performance:
"I think we talked about just exploiting the mismatch. They weren't small and I just credit the team and coach. We really made an emphasis to just pound it inside, and we got great looks. So, it was a great team effort and great communication to exploit that mismatch."
What's Next?: The Sparks return home to face the Chicago Sky Sunday, June 29 (1 p.m. PT) on Candace Parker Jersey Retirement Day at Crypto.com Arena.
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