LONG BEACH — Lexie Brown had a game-high 20 points, Dearica Hamby had her second double-double of the season with 17 points and 18 rebounds and rookie Cameron Brink led a defensive effort in the final minute as the Sparks used a strong second-half surge to pull off a 70-68 comeback win against the Washington Mystics on Tuesday night at Long Beach State’s Walter Pyramid.
With the Sparks (1-2) leading 67-66, Washington had the ball and called timeout with 24.7 seconds left and nine seconds remaining on the shot clock. The Mystics (0-4) did not get a shot off and turned the ball over on a shot clock violation.
The Sparks then made three of four free throws and led 70-68 before the Mystics went to Shakira Austin in the paint for the chance to tie the score. Brink stripped her of the ball as she attempted to shoot, then Brink blocked the shot after the loose ball came back to Austin. With 0.3 seconds left, the Mystics inbounded to Austin again in the paint, but she did not get a shot off against Brink’s defense and the Sparks overcame 24 turnovers to earn their first win of the season.
“Every win is huge for us, for our confidence and what we’re doing,” Sparks coach Curt Miller said. “So really proud of them. It was two teams that mirrored each other than are trying to find an identity, certainly, both of us have an absolute direction that we’re taking right now and it’s fun.”
The score was tied at 55 entering the fourth quarter, then Stefanie Dolson gave the Sparks the lead for good at 58-55 when she hit a 3-pointer with nine minutes remaining.
“I would say we got to our spots better,” Hamby said. “We matched the physicality a little bit more. The refs let us play.”
The Sparks went on to lead 65-58 before the Mystics got their first field goal of the final period, a driving layup by Aaliyah Edwards with 4½ minutes remaining. Another layup by Edwards got Washington within 65-62 and a third layup made it 65-64 but she missed the and-one opportunity that would have tied the score with 2:06 remaining. Hamby’s jumper made it 67-64, but Washington center Shakira Austin’s fadeaway jumper cut it to 67-66 with 1:24 left.
The Sparks had an opportunity to add to their slim advantage but rookie forward Rickea Jackson, who finished with nine points off the bench, committed her fifth turnover with 39 seconds remaining, setting the stage for the dramatic finish and the Brink-led defensive stand.
“When Cam is not in foul trouble it allows us to play Rickea more at the (small forward),” Sparks coach Curt Miller said.
The Sparks had trailed 47-40 with 4:32 left in the third quarter but turned the tide with a 15-5 run and took a 55-52 lead on Hamby’s layup with 46 seconds left in the third. The Sparks began the fourth on an 8-1 run and took a 65-56 lead.
“I think we just picked up the pace on the offensive end, we want to run,” Brown said. “We have such dangerous threats at every position, especially in space, when we’re up and down.”
Miller’s player appreciate what he is trying to help them become.
“Our coach believes in us and believes in me individually and he shows that in practices,” Hamby said before the game. “He hasn’t hung his head once, so we’re not going to hang our heads.”
Brown, the team’s longest-tenured player (acquired in a March 2022 trade with the Chicago Sky), said she is enjoying the opportunity to be one of her team’s go-to players.
“It’s fun,” Brown said before the game. “It’s something I was expecting so I came this season with a few new tools in my toolbox and this team is great. They put me in great situations to be successful and we have threats at all positions so when the (other) team is keying on me that’s cool, we have a lot of playmakers and bucket-getters on this team.”
Washington was led by rookie guard Julie Vanloo and Austin with 12 points each. Edwards, a rookie forward, added 10 points.
The Sparks, who only mustered eight points in the second quarter, will return to action when they host No. 1 draft pick Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever on Friday night at Crypto.com Arena.
A deep 3-pointer by Brown with eight seconds left in the first quarter but the Sparks up 24-23. Brown had nine points (3 for 3 from behind the arc) in the first.
However, Vanloo banked in back-to-back 3-pointers, which put Washington up 33-29 midway through the second quarter. Washington’s 11-0 run put them up 36-29 with 1:15 left before halftime. Brown, who had 15 points in the first half, added her final three points of the second quarter on a technical free throw and a pull-up jump shot as the Sparks trailed 36-32 at halftime.
Hamby, who scored a career-high 29 points against her former Las Vegas Aces team on Saturday, had 12 rebounds in the first half against Washington but struggled offensively with two points on 1-for-6 shooting from the field at halftime.
“I felt like I couldn’t really put the ball in the basket the first half but there’s other ways I can contribute to the game that still gets me going,” Hamby explained.
The Sparks shot 38.7% in the first half (12 for 31), including a 5-for-12 showing from 3-point range (41.7%).
Brink finished with four points, eight rebounds, three assists, three steals and three blocks in their third career WNBA start.
“It’s physical so being who I need to be for the team,” Brink said before the game. “It doesn’t need to be offensively, necessarily. Just doing whatever I need to help the team, going forward I’m going to continue to be a rim protector, be a force and help out the girls.”
