Sparks Suppress Storm in Double-OT, Capture W-Leading Ninth Road Win
WNBA Los Angeles Sparks

Sparks Suppress Storm in Double-OT, Capture W-Leading Ninth Road Win

August 1, 2025 - Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA)
Los Angeles Sparks News Release


Game Leaders:

Sparks

PTS - Rickea Jackson (27)

REB - Dearica Hamby (13)

AST - Kelsey Plum (7)

Storm

PTS - Nneka Ogwumike (37)

REB - Nneka Ogwumike (12)

AST - Gabby Williams (8)

First Quarter:

Forward-center Azurá Stevens opened the scoring with two made free throws at the 9:05 mark

Forward Rickea Jackson converted the Sparks' first field goal of the game with 6:44 left in the quarter, cutting the Sparks' deficit to 5-4

Guard Julie Allemand read an Ezi Magbegor pass and took it all the way for a breakaway layup, giving the Sparks an 8-7 lead

Forward Dearica Hamby made a layup at the 3:44 mark off an assist from Stevens to return the lead to Los Angeles. On the next Sparks possession, Hamby converted another layup, this time via a Jackson assist

Jackson's putback gave Los Angeles its largest lead of the game, 14-9, at the 2:29 mark

Stevens scored or assisted on 10 of the Sparks' 18 first-quarter points

Jackson had a game-high five rebounds in the first quarter and tied with Stevens for a team-high six points. Jackson's five rebounds tied her quarter career high for boards

Los Angeles outrebounded Seattle 13-8, led in fast break points 10-0 and points off turnovers 8-0. The first quarter featured six lead changes and one time tied

Second Quarter:

A Hamby made free throw with 8:38 remaining marked the Sparks' first point of the quarter

Plum converted the Sparks' first field goal of the quarter at the 6:12 mark with a shot from eight feet away to make the score 27-21, Seattle advantage

Stevens drilled her first triple of the game with 4:08 left in the half to cut the Sparks' deficit to six points, 32-26. She had a team-high three assists in the first half and went 4-for-4 from the free throw line

Jackson's step-back jump shot pulled the Sparks to within four points, 35-31

Jackson finished a three-point play with 1:32 to go in the half, bringing L.A. to within one point, 35-34

With only 27 seconds left in the first half, Hamby made a layup off a Stevens assist to cut the Sparks' deficit to 39-36

Hamby led the Sparks in first-half scoring with 12 points (4-for-8 FG, 4-for-7 FT) and matched Jackson with a team-high six rebounds. Eight (2-for-4 FG, 4-for-6 FT) of Hamby's 12 came in the second quarter, a game high

Sparks led the Storm in fast break points, 15-2, in the first half

Third Quarter:

Jackson opened up the second half with a layup off an assist from Stevens at the 9:36 mark

At the 8:12 mark, Plum made a layup to cut the Sparks' deficit to 41-40

Allemand drained the Sparks' first triple of second half at the 4:24 mark to make the score 56-50, Seattle advantage

Plum hit first her three of the game, trimming Seattle's lead to 60-53 with 2:33 left in the third

In the third quarter, Plum scored a game-high 12 points (4-for-6 FG, 1-for-2 3PT, 3-for-4 FT)

Fourth Quarter:

Forward Cameron Brink recorded her first points of the game and opened the Sparks' scoring in the quarter with a mid-range jump shot at the 9:32 mark. Less than a minute later, Brink hit a triple via a Plum assist to cut Seattle's lead to 66-64 at the 8:39 mark

Plum's three-pointer shrunk the Storm lead to a single point, 68-67 with 8:05 in the game

The Sparks took their first lead since 8:48 in the second quarter with a Plum three-point play at the 7:40 mark, making the score 70-68, Sparks advantage

With 4:08 left in the game, guard-forward Rae Burrell's reverse layup returned the lead to the Sparks, 75-74

Jackson made a layup off of a cross-court assist from Plum, giving the Sparks a 77-74 lead at the 3:45 mark. In the next Sparks play, Hamby's layup, assisted by Plum off of an Allemand steal, widened the Sparks lead to 79-74 at the 3:22 mark

The Sparks successfully challenged an out-of-bounds call with 2:57 left in the game, retaining possession with a 79-74 lead

Stevens' layup following Jackson's offensive rebound tied the game at 82-82 with 47 seconds remaining

Jackson tied the game, 84 apiece, with 17 seconds to play. Shortly after, Jackson tied the game again with under five seconds left, sending the game to overtime

The Sparks shot 52.4% from the field and were perfect from beyond the arc in the fourth quarter. Los Angeles outscored Seattle 16-8 in the paint in the final quarter

Overtime:

The Sparks' second overtime game of the season began with a Hamby layup off a Stevens assist at the 4:51 mark

Stevens drained a three-pointer and layup on two consecutive plays to widen the Sparks' lead to five with 3:15 left in overtime

Jackson's reverse layup with 1:32 remaining in overtime extended the Sparks' advantage to four, 97-93

Allemand converted a layup to break the tie and give Los Angeles a 99-97 lead with 38 seconds to play

Double-Overtime:

Plum opened the double-overtime with a turnaround jump shot at the 4:41 mark to make the score 101-99

Hamby received assistance from Plum to return the lead to the Sparks, 103-101

Less than a minute later, Stevens drained a three-pointer to extend the Sparks' gap to five, 106-101

Hamby's jumpshot with under five seconds remaining in double-overtime proved to be the game-winner, as the Sparks won 108-106

Los Angeles finished a combined 52.9% (9-of-17 FG) from the field and 40% (2-for-5 3PT) from deep in the overtime periods

Over the course of both overtime periods, there were five ties and one lead change

Main Takeaways:

The Sparks emerged victorious in the first double-overtime game of the WNBA season and the Sparks' first since August 18, 2017 when the Sparks won 115-106 in Seattle

Los Angeles set season highs in points with 108, field goals made with 41 and rebounds with 58. Tonight's double-overtime win marks the Sparks' third highest scoring game in franchise history

Los Angeles recorded its league-leading ninth road win (9-6) of the season, snapping a five-game losing streak against Seattle. It was the Sparks' second game of the season that went beyond regulation

Rickea Jackson scored a team-high 27 points (11-for-23 FG, 5-for-5 FT), made a team-high 11 field goals and grabbed a season-high nine rebounds

Kelsey Plum tallied 22 points, had a team-high seven assists and had four rebounds

Dearica Hamby scored 21 points and secured a game-high 13 rebounds, recording her 51st career double-double. This moved her into a tie with Napheesa Collier and Crystal Langhorne for 28th on the W's all-time double-doubles list

Azurá Stevens recorded 21 points (7-for-11, 3-for-5 FG, 4-for-4 FT), matched her career-high in rebounds and assists with five, adding two blocks. With two blocks, she racked up her ninth game of the season with multiple blocks

Cameron Brink's seven points, three blocks and two steals mark her new season highs. This marks the ninth time out of her first 17 career contests that she has tallied at least one steal and at least block. It is also her seventh 3+ block performance in just 17 career games

Julie Allemand recorded eight points, five assists, two steals and a career-high nine rebounds

The game featured 14 lead changes and 12 ties. The Sparks also outscored the Storm 60-50 in points in the paint and 19-8 on the fast break

Pregame Quotes:

Head Coach Lynne Roberts

On Cameron Brink's ability to alter shots:

"I think [Las] Vegas presented some problems. It's a tough first game back to guard A'ja Wilson, and it's not like Nneka [Ogwumike] is a slouch either. But yeah, I think even if she's not getting blocks, she's going to alter shots, and that's huge. So, she may not get a hand on it, but the offensive player for sure knows she's there. She's different than Dearica [Hamby] or Azurá [Stevens], so we might use her a little differently in pick-and-roll coverages, where rather than get her away from the basket, [we can] have her be more sagging and just kind of that protector... I think that allows the perimeter to be a little more aggressive."

On strategizing offensively against Seattle's defense:

"Offensively... the philosophy is, 'Take what they give you,' right? So, if they're not going to give us threes, then we're going to attack the bucket... Seattle is very good defensively. They're very smart and experienced. They know their bread and butter on defense, [so] the ball has to move. If the ball... gets sticky, meaning it sticks in one person's hands too long, then we're pretty easy to defend. So for us... the ball's got to move. And whether that means sideline to sideline or inside out, there has to be ball movement. So, we've got to be aggressive and take what they give us. If it's an early shot, great, take it. If it takes 18 seconds of ball movement, then we gotta do that. So, I think we've got to be ready to play fast in the open court."

Postgame Press Conference Quotes:

Head Coach Lynne Roberts

On the Sparks' success on the road:

"We are able to eliminate distractions on the road. It's very much the collective, all-for-one, one-for-all mentality. We understand that we're a 'sum of the parts' team, and that's not very common, is it? We've got great crowds, and it's not like we're playing in an empty arena, so we've got to fix the home game thing, but we will. We're continuing to get better, but this was a great win. To be able to do it on the road with this crowd in double overtime, it's a great confidence boost."

On the message to the team during halftime:

"Well, to be honest, other than the turnovers, I thought offensively we were doing well, we just weren't shooting well. Shooting is a confidence thing. I told them at halftime... you have to stay confident, you have to just keep shooting. We hit some big shots. Azurá [Stevens]' corner three, she hit another one before that. We didn't shoot it for percentage, but we sure made up for it in the second half, and we made big shots when we needed to. So the message was if we're taking great shots, you gotta trust it. Trust yourself, trust the work. I think that was the biggest difference. [In the] second quarter, I don't think we played poorly. We turned it over too much in that first half, but we took good shots, and I'm fine with that. So my message to them was, keep shooting."

Rickea Jackson

On how Azurá Stevens's leadership has helped her develop:

"Just being there for me, more so off the court than anything. That's my bestie, we've grown a really close bond since my rookie year. She was my vet, so just seeing what she's been doing with a training camp under her belt, because last year she was hurt, but she's playing with the utmost confidence. She's so versatile, she just comes in every day, puts her head down, and does her work. So, just to have her on our team, she's just so great, and I feel like she does so many great things for us. She makes those big plays, and she just never gets down to herself, so we need that."

On what the team's trust means in important moments:

"It means a lot for my coaches and my teammates to trust in me in these crucial moments. At the end of the day, I just want to win for them. For them to even trust to put the ball in my hands in those moments, it makes you focus a little bit more. You're like, 'I'm going to make sure that I make this bucket, because if not, I would be so disappointed in myself, I will beat myself up for that until the next game.' So that's all it's about, the trust factor, the moving the ball... we're getting each other the ball in our spots, and I feel like our chemistry is just continuing to grow. [If] the ball goes to anybody in those moments, whoever it is, we're all just fearless. So, it's not just me, it's anybody. So again, [I'm] just proud of this team and glad we got this win."

Kelsey Plum

On how to limit distractions at home:

"At the end of the day, we're professional athletes, and we're gonna figure it out. Tonight was a great step in the right direction, and... we have Indiana at home, they're playing great basketball, that's not gonna be an easy game. I think we have to take it one game at a time, and when we start to look at the standings and where we're at, every game is critical and defending home court is the way that you get into the playoffs. If you win your home games, you're usually in the playoffs. We took a big step tonight, but I also think that we have a lot more steps to take. So yeah, I'll take accountability for that. We gotta be able to win at home, and I think that's on me [to be] better."

On the team's poise during a double-overtime game:

"That's one of the things that I've been super impressed about this group, like we just don't get rattled. On the road, I think we've had a lot of close wins, and if you look at overtime, everyone made clutch plays. Julie [Allemand] went to the hole in one play, obviously [Rickea Jackson] had two big buckets to get us into over time, Dearica [Hamby] had that one [shot], [Azurá Stevens] had some big shots. It was really just everyone reading the game and whatever kind of [was] available. It was awesome to [have] everyone stay super aggressive, and they scored, and we just went down the other way and got a couple easy buckets. I think that was just a good sign of maturity, that's when we're at our best."

What's Next?

Next, the Sparks return to Los Angeles for a two-game homestand, facing the Indiana Fever Tuesday, Aug. 5 (7 p.m. PT) and the Connecticut Sun Thursday, Aug. 7 (7 p.m. PT).

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Women's National Basketball Association Stories from August 1, 2025


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