Dearica Hamby was one of four Los Angeles scorers with at least 21 points, notching her final two on what proved to be the game-winner for the Sparks in their 108-106 defeat of the host Seattle Storm in double overtime on Friday.
Hamby muscled through a double-team to put in a layup with 4.7 seconds remaining, set up by a one-handed bounce pass from Kelsey Plum. The dish was the last of seven assists for Plum, whose 22 points were crucial for Los Angeles (12-15).
As critical to the Sparks scoring their sixth win in the last seven games was Plum’s defense of Skylar Diggins. She forced Diggins to miss at the buzzer, avoiding a third overtime.
The closing stop capped a back-and-forth affair highlighted by a variety of standout performances and heroics. Rickea Jackson scored a team-high 27 points for the Sparks, and she was huge down the stretch of regulation to lead Los Angeles to the first extra frame with a pair of game-tying scores in the final minute.
Jackson’s performance, which included nine rebounds, helped Los Angeles weather a 37-point effort from Seattle’s Nneka Ogwumike. She finished one point shy of matching her career high while also grabbing 12 rebounds for the Storm (16-12).
Diggins added 18 points, Erica Wheeler scored 15 points and each dished six assists. Gabby Williams chipped in another 14 points to go with eight assists and five steals.
As balanced as Seattle was behind Ogwumike’s explosive scoring night, Los Angeles answered with significant contributions from Azura Stevens, who scored 21 points and shot 3-of-5 from 3-point range. The last of her triples came on a sequence in the second OT that began with Plum penetrating into the lane off the dribble, finding an open Julie Allemand on the wing, and Allemand hitting Stevens in the corner with a perfectly placed touch-pass as the Storm defense rotated.
Stevens sank the 3-pointer to give Los Angeles a 106-101 cushion, providing some key breathing room before the Storm rallied to tie it on Williams’ 3-pointer with 16.4 seconds left.
That set the stage for the game-winner from Hamby, who also had a game-high 13 rebounds.
–Field Level Media
