After splitting a pair of games against her former team on the road earlier this season, the Los Angeles Sparks’ Kelsey Plum now gets the opportunity to play host to old friends when the Las Vegas Aces pay a visit Tuesday.
The Sparks (11-14) are on a season-best five game winning streak with the last three victories on the road, including Saturday’s 101-99 statement win against the defending champion New York Liberty.
Plum, who was moved from the Aces to the Sparks on Feb. 1 in a three-team trade that included the Seattle Storm, had promised better play was on the way in LA. It is now evident with an offense that has averaged 97.2 points during the win streak and shot at least 50 percent in each of the last four games.
Plum scored 20 points with eight assists against the Liberty. Rickea Jackson added 24 points, which included the game-winning basket at the buzzer. Dearica Hamby scored 17 points with 10 rebounds for her 50th career double-double.
“I’m just proud of these guys’ resilience. They’re buying in, they’re figuring it out and I have so much trust in them,” Sparks head coach Lynne Roberts said. “… There’s ownership in what we’re doing, resilience and staying steady. I think that’s what it takes to win.”
As if the Sparks don’t have enough going for them, forward Cameron Brink confirmed Monday that she’ll make her season debut on Tuesday.
The 6-foot-4 Brink, selected immediately after Caitlin Clark in the 2024 WNBA Draft, averaged 7.5 points, 5.3 rebounds and 2.3 blocks in 15 starts for the Sparks last season before tearing the anterior cruciate ligament and meniscus cartilage in her left knee on June 18 against Connecticut.
The Aces (13-13) arrive in Los Angeles at the end of a four-game road trip. They lost the first two games, then earned a 106-80 victory over the Dallas Wings on Sunday. The 100th career win for Aces head coach Becky Hammon coincided with the team’s season high in points.
In a rotation switch, Jewell Loyd scored 20 points in her first game off the bench this season. She was replaced in the lineup by Kierstan Bell, who scored a career-high 19 points in her first start. Loyd also was in the Plum trade, moving to Las Vegas from Seattle.
“I think when I have been consistent with (Bell in minutes), she has been consistent with me,” Hammon said. “Jewell just wanted a change of scenery and come off the bench and the fact they both excelled in those roles is a positive for us.”
Jackie Young led the Aces with 24 points and made five 3-pointers as the team connected on a season-best 15 while hitting 41.7 percent from long distance.
–Field Level Media
