The Sparks survived a fourth-quarter comeback attempt to secure their first win of the season, defeating the Washington Mystics 70-68 on Tuesday at the Walter Pyramid. The Sparks (1-2) avoided their first 0-3 start since 2015 behind a balanced attack led by 20 points from Lexie Brown.
The guard made two free throws with 14.7 seconds remaining, giving the Sparks a three-point lead. But the Mystics (0-4) scored quickly on the other end with a layup from Ariel Atkins. Sparks guard Kia Nurse made just one of two free throws with 7.6 seconds remaining, leaving the door ajar for the Mystics.
Cameron Brink closed it tightly. The second overall pick trapped Sharika Austin on Washington’s final possession, not even allowing Washington’s offensive lineman to get a shot at the buzzer.
The crowd, waving green towels for the team’s mental health awareness game, shook the pyramid. After two games in Long Beach, the Sparks will return to their downtown home at Crypto.com Arena on Friday to host the Indiana Fever in newcomer Caitlin Clark’s Los Angeles debut.
Brink finished with four points and eight rebounds, while fellow rookie Rickea Jackson played a season-high 31 minutes with nine points and three rebounds.
Dearica Hamby scored 14 of her 17 points in the third quarter to help the Sparks come back from a 36-32 halftime deficit. Despite missing five of her six shots, the forward grabbed 12 rebounds in the first half, surpassing her league-leading average of 11.5 boards per game.
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The two-time WNBA Sixth Player of the Year averaged 24.5 points through the first two games of the year. With her eyes on her third All-Star selection in four years, Hamby was fulfilling her preseason goal of being the team’s best player.
She proved her status again in the third quarter.
The nine-year WNBA veteran scored eight points in a 14-5 Sparks run that began midway through the third quarter and erased a nine-point Washington lead. Hamby started the streak with back-to-back layups. After missing a free throw, she grabbed the offensive rebound to score on a layup. She then assisted Nurse on the game-tying three-pointer with 2:22 left in the third quarter.
Nurse scored three important points in the second half and finished with 12 points. Hamby finished with 18 rebounds, one shy of his career best.
This story originally appeared in the Los Angeles Times.
