Los Angeles — 15 ties. 17 lead changes.
The Las Vegas Aces were riding a six-game winning streak as one of the WNBA’s hottest teams. The Los Angeles Sparks came into the game on an eight-game losing streak, many of which were due to losing leads late in games.
History looked like it might repeat itself as the Sparks blew a double-digit lead into the fourth quarter, but the up-and-coming Sparks battled back in overtime to pull off a 98-93 victory over the defending champion Aces on Friday night.
“We had another fourth-quarter lead disappear, but that’s what happens with this young team,” Sparks head coach Kurt Miller said after the game.
“You just have to keep forcing them into those situations. They fought back tonight with real tenacity and toughness, finding a bunch of stops and offensive plays to take the game to overtime. I thought we played with intent tonight and made some great plays, especially in overtime, to get to the goal line.”
The Sparks won despite a world-class performance from center A’ja Wilson, who finished with 35 points, 12 rebounds, three assists and six blocks. It was a historic night for the two-time MVP.
A’ja Wilson is just the third player in WNBA history (Lisa Leslie, Candace Parker) to achieve the following in a single game:
🏀 35 points or more
🏀 12+ Rebounds
🏀 5 or more blocks— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) July 6, 2024
However, it was LA that took the win in the final minutes, led by rising star Dearica Hamby’s 28 points.
The Sparks were focused on both offense and defense in the second quarter and took control of the game for the first time.
The Aces led 31-28 after halfway through the quarter, but the Sparks came storming back in the final five minutes of the half.
Freshmen Rikea Jackson and Aari McDonald helped the team along by making three 3-pointers each in the first half. McDonald, in particular, made a big impact by scoring a career-high 23 points. Coming into the game, she knew her matchup with ace guard Kelsey Plum was going to be hers to attack.
“[Plum] “Kells is a great player,” McDonald said. “I played with her as a freshman at Washington University, and she’s an aggressive player. She doesn’t want to play on the defensive end. She’s selective, but I knew that going into the game, so I had to take advantage of that. Even if I didn’t score, I was able to get my teammates open.”
Almost as impressive as McDonald’s scoring was L.A.’s defense, which held the defending champions to just five points in the final five minutes of the quarter. The Sparks went on a 9-0 run to close out the first half and led 46-36. The Aces scored just 12 points in the second quarter.
The team was so focused during halftime that they didn’t notice the score, and Miller credited his team’s focus on the game.
“We’ve talked a lot about what we want to be responsible for and we have a chance to continue to get better and better. We just had too many slips and tonight we had fewer slips and fewer turnovers,” he said.
The Sparks committed a team-low three turnovers (the previous low was four at Chicago on July 16, 2010) and the fewest turnovers by a WNBA team this season (the previous low was five at Chicago on June 16).
At the same time, the Sparks continued to apply defensive pressure on the Aces, and LA maintained a 70-60 lead entering the fourth quarter.
The stakes were high for both teams in the closing stages of the game. The Aces had to come back to continue their winning streak. The Sparks had a chance to end their losing streak and get their first win since early June. Add in the fact that LA blew a double-digit lead in their most recent loss, and the pressure was on for them to close out this one.
The Aces came back from the fourth quarter break with more intensity than ever, using a 15-4 run to put Vegas up a 75-74 lead.
They stayed close the rest of the way.
The Aces put Wilson under the basket on an out-of-bounds play for a layup to make it 84-82 with 15 seconds left, while Stephanie Talbot got a touch in the post and a fadeaway that touched every part of the rim to tie the score at 84-84 with three seconds left, sending the game into overtime.
In the overtime period, both teams piled on the points. Jump shots from the perimeter were hard to come by, and both teams got into the paint to score.
First, the Sparks’ McDonald scored a scoop layup in the paint, followed by layups from Talbot and Hamby. Jackie Young scored the Aces’ first six points of overtime. The game was tied again, this time at 90-90, with under two minutes remaining.
A Leisha Clarendon floater in the paint gave the Sparks a 92-90 lead. After a defensive stop, LA came down court for the deciding shot. With the shot clock running out, Hamby got the ball in the paint. She faked once before jumping and was fouled by Alysha Clark, finishing with contact. Hamby made the free throw to put LA up 95-90 with 24 seconds left.
From that point on, free throws sealed the victory for the Sparks, ending the winning streaks of both teams.
