LOS ANGELES – The last time the Dallas Wings visited Crypto.com Arena, Paige Bueckers eviscerated the Los Angeles Sparks’ defense tying a WNBA rookie record in points with 44. Prior to the Sparks’ game against the Wings on Sunday, head coach Lynne Roberts vowed that things would be different this time around.

Paige Bueckers fell just 26 points short of her previous total against the Sparks defense, finishing with only 18 and taking only eight shots compared to the 21 she took back on Aug. 20. The game overall was decidedly different as well. The Sparks ended up cruising to a 91-77 win whereas the last meeting needed a game-winner from Kelsey Plum.

While Bueckers was efficient from the field and still finished with double figures in scoring, Lynne Roberts was overall pleased with the Sparks’ defense, especially rookie guard Sarah Ashlee Barker who helped Plum get valuable rest in the second half.

“SA’s [Sarah Ashlee] got great size for a two guard. She’s six feet tall and strong and not afraid. She’ll guard anybody. I thought she did a really good job. Kelsey was trying to play through stuff today and it was great to not have to put her back out there so she can recover a little bit,” Roberts said. “I thought we did a good job on Paige. She still ended up with 18 which speaks to her talent. But we weren’t going to let her go off again. . .I thought we did a pretty good team effort on that.”

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Barker’s run against Bueckers in the second half was just the latest in which she’s seen extended minutes as the regular season winds down. Roberts has played a strict eight-player rotation since the Sparks have been healthy, and Barker has found herself on the outside looking in.

But during the Sparks’ recent road trip that had stops in Seattle and Atlanta, Barker has seen herself back in the rotation. Against the Wings on Sunday, she was the second reserve off the bench behind only Rae Burrell.

Barker was the No. 9 overall pick in the 2025 WNBA Draft. When the team was hit by injuries and absences in the first half of the season, Barker was forced into immediate duty. She’s appeared in a total of 31 games, including seven starts, at a little over 13 minutes per game. She’s shooting 32.1 percent from the three-point line and 77.3 percent from the free-throw line.

With the Wings in the rearview, the Sparks will head out to Phoenix for a game against the Mercury as they look to keep their playoff hopes alive.