The Sparks won a critical game Sunday, defeating the Washington Mystics 81-78 to keep their slim playoff hopes alive heading into the final two weeks of the regular season.
Washington hit a trio of three-pointers in the final minute, but Dearica Hamby‘s jumper in the paint and Kelsey Plum‘s two free throws in the final 20 seconds were enough to seal a Sparks win.
Hamby led the Sparks with 20 points and 12 rebounds, recording her 11th double-double of the season. Plum added 18 points, four rebounds and six assists. Rickea Jackson contributed 16 points and Azurá Stevens had 12 rebounds.
“Dearica was just a beast on the boards and finishing in traffic with those-and-ones,” Sparks coach Lynne Roberts said. “She’s just so strong and athletic,”
It was a critical win for a ninth-place Sparks team that is three wins behind the Indiana Fever for the final playoff spot.
The Sparks (18-20) likely will need to win a majority of their remaining games to have a chance at the postseason. Their final six-game slate includes two tests against Atlanta this week and games against Phoenix and Las Vegas to close the regular season.
They also need the Valkyries, Fever and Seattle Storm to lose. Golden State, which beat Indiana on Sunday night to move ahead of Seattle and into sixth, also owns the playoff tiebreaker after winning the season series against the Sparks.
The Sparks could help their cause with a road win over Seattle (22-19) on Monday night.
Before Sunday’s win, Roberts wanted to see better pacing from her team. She got that, along with better shot execution. Unfortunately, 13 turnovers allowed the Mystics to stay on the Sparks’ heels most of the game.
The Sparks came out strong in the first quarter, building a double-digit lead of 13 points.
Washington (16-25) responded in the second quarter and tied the game 24-24. Plum then split a pair of free throws to put the Sparks ahead and they pulled away to take a 40-31 lead by halftime.
The Sparks continued to stay ahead in the third quarter, but six points from Kiki Iriafen coupled with a Stefanie Dolson three-pointer gave Washington a 56-55 lead with 8:21 left. The Sparks retook the lead before a Sonia Citron three-pointer tied the score at 61-61 with 5:35 remaining.
Hamby then made a couple of free throws and scored on a two-foot layup to put the Sparks ahead for good.
Iriafren finished with 22 points and 13 rebounds, securing her 15th double-double of the season. Shakira Austin added 11 points and seven rebounds. Citron chipped in 12 points.
With some much at stake in days ahead, Stevens knows the Sparks can’t afford to lose their focus.
“We know the circumstances, but all we can control is the next possession.” Stevens said, “Just taking it day by day and really focusing on us, our defense, our rebounding, our pace on offense.”
Roberts also would like to see more from her players Monday night against Seattle.
“We’ve got to be better at putting teams away and not making it a close game, but we took care of business [tonight],” Roberts said.