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The Los Angeles Sparks' current road trip continued on Tuesday amid a sold-out historic WNBA game at TD Garden, home of the Boston Celtics. While the Sparks managed to hang tough against the Connecticut Sun, a few miscues and breakdowns in the fourth quarter doomed them. Following the game, Dearica Hamby spoke about what went wrong for the Sparks in their loss to the Sun.
“We know that they're a super physical team and their defensive pressure is usually what makes teams struggle,” Hamby said. “We handled it decently, obviously we still had 22 turnovers but we were still in the game. But those three turnovers in the last couple minutes really hurt us.”
The Sparks began the fourth quarter on a 7-0 run to tie the game at 53 following Rickea Jackson's and one putback off an offensive rebound. The Sparks' run continued as they surged ahead, 59-55, with about four minutes remaining in the game.
But the Sun countered with a 14-0 run to take control of the game and never look back. During that stretch was when the Sparks committed the turnovers that Dearica Hamby mentioned. Sparks head coach Curt Miller was also ejected after protesting a non-call and the Sparks took a few rushed shots that played into the Sun's momentum.
“I thought we were in it. . .it felt really composed and then we took kind of a quick shot on the other end and that was basically a turnover for them, they converted on it,” Hamby said. “But I think we kept our confidence throughout it, it was just one of those things were we fell short.”
Rickea Jackson continues her hot streak for the Sparks
While Angel Reese and Caitlin Clark have dominated the headlines in terms of WNBA rookies, with each passing game Rickea Jackson is showing why she probably should be in the conversation when it comes to Rookie of the Year race.
Jackson finished with 14 points six rebounds, one assist and one blocked shot in a team-high 34 minutes against the Sun. She shot 5-of-13 from the field and went a perfect 4-of-4 from the free-throw line.
She began the 2024 WNBA season coming off the bench, but has been in the Sparks' starting lineup since May 28. Coming into Tuesday's game, she was averaging 11.7 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.3 assists with splits of 46.2 percent shooting from the field, 30.9 percent shooting from the three-point line and 75.4 percent shooting from the free-throw line.
She's third among all rookies in points per game and one of only three rookies, Clark and Reese being the other two, that are averaging double figures in scoring. She's also the only rookie averaging double figures in scoring and shooting over 45 percent from the field.
Jackson was thought by many to be the most WNBA ready in her draft class, a thought that gained more traction after an impressive showing during a scrimmage between Tennessee and Team USA last November. She ended up being the No. 4 overall pick by the Sparks in the 2024 WBA Draft and looks like a future franchise cornerstone.
