The Sparks end the first half of the season blowing out the Mystics 99-80 on Tuesday night.
Kelsey Plum had 20 points, four rebounds, six assists and three steals. Rickea Jackson ended with 22 points, three rebounds and two assists. Azurá Stevens pitched in with 15 points, eight rebounds and two assists. Julie Allemand had 10 steals. Rae Burrell had five points and two steals.
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L.A. got off to a hot start, shooting 60% from the field. The big three of Dearica, Kelsey, and Azurá combined for all 16 Sparks points. Shakira Austin was cooking for the Mystics with six points. Los Angeles had all the momentum until Washington heated up for six points to make it a three-point game.
Rickea’s continued dominance was on full display again as she was up to six points and was shooting 50% from the field. Every starter except for Julie A. scored in this quarter. At the end of the first, the purple and gold were up four.
Julie opened the second quarter with a 3-pointer, which meant all starters had now scored points for Los Angeles.
Momentum rapidly started building in favor of the Sparks once more, with four more points scored to make it a nine-point lead. The Mystics were up to seven turnovers in this half.
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Rae provided a huge lift off the bench with four points in this quarter. Kelsey knocked down her second 3-pointer of the game on a step-back. Julie A. had seven of the Sparks’ 11 assists. The lead ballooned to 20 for Los Angeles.
Washington not only couldn’t score, but they also kept turning the ball over and had no answers for the beatdown Los Angeles was handing them.
The Sparks capped off their impressive first half with a buzzer-beating 3-pointer from Dearica, stretching the lead to 25 at halftime. This is the largest advantage they’ve had all season.
Rickea kept the momentum going for the Sparks with a layup to open the second half. The lead had gone to 27 until Washington started to slowly chip away, cutting the deficit to 18 midway through the quarter.
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An offensive rebound by Azurá eventually led to her regaining possession for a 3-pointer. An 8-2 run gave the Sparks all the momentum right back.
Washington was up to 15 turnovers, while L.A. was playing clean with just six. Rickea had 11 points in this quarter. At the end of the third, the Sparks were up by 22.
The final frame started nicely for the Mystics thanks to Sug Sutton scoring seven points. Washington once again began to gain some steam. Mystics rookie Sonia Citron knocked down her second 3-pointer of the night.
Los Angeles was missing their shots until Azurá drained a 3-pointer. Rickea got into the paint and found Dearica with an impressive assist for a layup. Benches were emptied with 2:15 left in the game.
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Key Takeaways:
Los Angeles spent three quarters with single-digit turnovers, which was a huge reason why they maintained such a big lead. They played clean!
This game was a perfect example of how well this team plays when they are clicking on all cylinders.
The Sparks’ next game will be Tuesday against the Washington Mystics at 4:30 PM PT.
You can follow Karin on Twitter at @KarinAbcarians.
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