Tied for the WNBA’s best record over the last 10 games, the surging Los Angeles Sparks look to continue rolling on Thursday when they host the last-place Connecticut Sun.
Los Angeles (13-15) improved to 8-2 since July 5, a run better than any other team in the league other than the WNBA-best Minnesota Lynx, with its 100-91 victory over Indiana on Tuesday.
It was the Sparks’ second consecutive game reaching triple digits — coming on the heels of a dramatic 108-106 double-overtime win at Seattle last Friday — and their fourth 100-plus-point outing in five games.
Los Angeles is now third in the league in scoring offense at 86 points per game, behind only last year’s WNBA Finals participants and the current top two teams in the standings, Minnesota and New York.
Sharpshooter Kelsey Plum, whose 2.5 3-pointers made per game are tied for third-most in the league, ranks third in the WNBA at 20.4 points per contest.
In recent outings, however, second-year forward Rickea Jackson has emerged as an offensive focal point with at least 24 points in three of the last four contests.
“Feistiness. Competitive spirit,” Jackson said when asked what she has taken from playing with the veteran Plum. “The confidence she instills in me, each and every game … she doesn’t know how much that means to me.”
As Los Angeles begins to find its groove, it has played its way into the postseason race. The Sparks trail Golden State by just one game for eighth place and the final spot in the playoffs.
Connecticut (5-23), meanwhile, finds itself in the basement as it continues a four-game road swing. The Sun fell to 1-12 away from home this season with the first game on their trip, an 82-66 setback on Tuesday at Phoenix.
The loss coincides with a flurry of rumors surrounding the organization’s future following the Sun’s purchase by a group that includes Steve Pagliuca, a minority owner in the NBA’s Boston Celtics.
While Connecticut’s long-term future is shrouded in uncertainty, Sun coach Rachid Meziane said that addressing the team’s issues in the immediate future requires a better first-quarter effort.
“We have to learn to start the game better,” he said following Tuesday’s loss. “Especially because we have a couple of games away [in a row].”
Slow starts contribute to defensive woes plaguing Connecticut. The Sun have allowed 86.9 points per game this season — more than any team except, coincidentally, Los Angeles at 88.1.
In two prior matchups with the Sparks, both played amid Los Angeles’ current run, Connecticut surrendered 92 and 101 points — both Sparks wins.
–Field Level Media
