LOS ANGELES — With their playoff hopes on the line, the Sparks started the game on a 12-0 run, and later rallied in the fourth quarter for a much-needed 81-78 win against the Washington Mystics at Crypto.com Arena Sunday night.
Sparks forward Dearica Hamby had a double-double with 20 points and 12 rebounds. Kelsey Plum scored 14 of her 18 points in the fourth quarter. Plum also had seven assists. Rickea Jackson scored 16 points. Azurá Stevens nearly had a double-double with nine points and 12 rebounds.
The Sparks led 55-49 at the end of the third quarter. However, a 7-0 run by the Mystics to start the fourth made it 56-55, which was the first time the Sparks trailed with 8:21 left in the game. Plum made two free throws, which put the Sparks back up 57-56. Stevens’ putback layup made it 59-56. Hamby later broke another tie with two made free throws to go up 63-61. Hamby’s potential three-point play made it 65-61 but she missed the free throw.
The Sparks later used an 8-0 run, powered by Plum and Hamby’s veteran leadership, to establish a 77-67 lead with 1:56 to go.
The Mystics were led by rookie forward Kiki Iriafen’s double-double (former Harvard-Westlake High, Stanford and USC star) with 22 points and 13 rebounds. Sonia Citron scored 12 points. Shakira Austin had 11 points. Stefanie Dolson added 10 points.
The ninth-place Sparks ended a two-game losing streak and improved to 18-20 with six games remaining in the regular season. They trail but are still competing with the Indiana Fever, Seattle Storm and Golden State Valkyries for the league’s eighth and final playoff spot.
“We all know what we’re playing for,” Sparks coach Lynne Roberts said before the game.
Roberts said she wanted to see improvement from her team, specifically by grabbing more defensive rebounds and limiting turnovers. The Sparks outrebounded the Mystics by a 22-19 margin in the first half and only committed six turnovers during that span.
“For all of us, me as the coach, them as players, we’ve got to show up and give it our absolute best,” Roberts continued. “I have no doubt our players will do that.”
LA Sparks head coach Lynne Roberts pregame media availability before Sparks host the Washington Mystics on Sunday.
Roberts talked about what the Sparks needs to do to beat the Mystics, Rickea Jackson’s leg injury and Julie Allemand impact of the team’s offense. pic.twitter.com/i2ffGvRr4h
— John W. Davis (@johnwdavis) August 31, 2025
Jackson, who is nursing a leg injury and was listed as questionable beforehand, started and drained a 3-pointer for the team’s first points. Plum followed with a 3-pointer of her own for a 6-0 lead. Julie Allemand’s fast break layup put the Sparks up 8-0 with 6:39 left in the first.
Allemand’s early basket was a positive as Coach Roberts wanted Allemand, who was averaging 4.9 points, 3.9 rebounds and 5.1 assists through 28 games, to be more assertive offensively. Allemand is the team’s only starter who does not average double figures in the scoring column.
“I think it changes everything,” Roberts explained. “When she’s assertive and confident and she doesn’t have to score 25 for her to be assertive and confident but shoot the kick out three when you’re open. She’s got a great shot. Sometimes, as a player, you get things in your head and you’ve just got to shoot your way out of it but when she’s confident and shooting and looking to score for herself, then that makes defending all five of us a lot harder.”
Two made free throws by Jackson and Stevens, respectively, made it 12-0. Dolson’s 3-pointer put the Mystics on the board but they trailed 12-3. Sparks rookie guard Sarah Ashlee Barker’s corner 3-pointer put the Sparks up 22-9 with 18.8 left in the first. They led 22-11 heading into the second quarter.
The Mystics responded by going on a 11-0 run to start the second, parked in part by rookie guard Lucy Olsen’s hustle, and tied the game at 22-all with 7:10 remaining in the first half. Cameron Brink’s putback layup put the Sparks up 24-22.
The Sparks later used a 7-0 run, started by Jackson’s 3-pointer and capped off by Stevens’ fast break layup, to reestablish a 32-25 with five minutes to go before halftime. Los Angeles led 40-31 at halftime. Jackson had 11 points in the first half. Hamby had 10 points.
Brink’s corner 3-pointer put the Sparks up double digits again, 50-38, with 4:45 left in the third quarter. Los Angeles led 55-49 at the end of the third.
Washington (16-25) came into the contest with a handful of games left and having already been eliminated from playoff contention.
“Just not break,” Mystics first-year coach Sydney Johnson said before the game. “We might bend, but we can’t break.”
Johnson, who said the organization approached this season with a development mindset, was more than pleased with Citron and Iriafen’s rookie seasons, which were highlighted by All-Star appearances.
“For me, we have to compete,” Johnson continued. “We can’t stray away from what got us here… they had a lot of good moments (this season), so I just don’t want us to forget that.”
Washington Mystics head coach Sydney Johnson’s pregame media availability before Sunday’s road game at the Sparks.
Coach Johnson on his team’s rookie All-Stars KiKi Iriafen and Sonia Citron and trying to win games after Brittney Sykes was traded to the Seattle Storm. pic.twitter.com/uPfAJjCYc4
— John W. Davis (@johnwdavis) August 31, 2025
UP NEXT
The Sparks will begin a three-game road trip at the Seattle Storm (22-19) on Monday 7 p.m. The Sparks are 2-1 against the Storm this season and need to win the game to claim a playoff tiebreaker between the two squads.
