LOS ANGELES — The Sparks look to win their second game of the season when they host the Dallas Wings on Sunday night at Crypto.com Arena.
Sparks forward Dearica Hamby was effective in the first half, but scored just two of her team’s 18 points after halftime in the team’s 78-73 loss to the Indiana Fever Friday night. Still, Hamby made an overall impact, grabbing 12 rebounds, for his third double-double of the season, and dishing out a season-high seven assists.
The Sparks led 45-34 at halftime against the Fever, but had just 28 points in the second half, including 11 points in a crucial third quarter.
Veteran guards Lexie Brown and Kia Nurse scored a combined nine points and went 0-12 from beyond the arc, exacerbating the team’s scoring woes. The team’s lack of perimeter scoring, coupled with 18 turnovers, in part due to the physicality of unheralded Fever players like Temi Fagbenle and Kristy Wallace, was too much for the Sparks to overcome in the disappointing loss in front of a sold-out crowd. record height. Fans.
Rookie forwards Rickea Jackson (16 points) and Cameron Brink (15 points and nine rebounds) both had season highs in scoring in their fourth career games.
“Cam’s lines 15 and 9 and I think she could have been even more dominant. And Rickea made some big baskets for us, so you see the potential, they’re going to be big for us all year,” Sparks coach Curt Miller said after Friday’s game. “I think they would both say they can play better.”
Dallas is led by three-time All-Star Arike Ogunbowale, who is averaging 28 points in her first three games, but is without All-Star starters Satou Sabally and Natasha Howard. However, the Stars recently signed forward Monique Billings, who was the last Sparks training camp cut two weeks ago. The UCLA graduate and Riverside native had 20 points and 10 rebounds in Dallas’ 83-78 loss to Atlanta on May 21.
The Wings will play the second half of back-to-back road games after Saturday night’s game in Phoenix, meaning the Sparks will be the most rested team heading into Sunday’s game.
DALLAS (1-2) AT SPARKS (1-3)
When: 6 p.m. Sunday
Or: Crypto.com Arena
TV: SportsNet Spectrum
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