Storm survive Sparks second half surge to grab win

Despite a great second-half rally, the Sparks came up short in Seattle, dropping their 30th game of the season.

After taking the lead late with a spirited fourth-quarter rally, the Sparks let another one slip away in Seattle on Sunday afternoon, falling 90-87.

Dearica Hamby scored 25 points and grabbed 11 rebounds. Rickea Jackson notched 22 points and reached a major milestone in her rookie campaign with 500 career points.

Odyssey Sims pitched in with 20 points, including a couple of big baskets late in the fourth quarter.

The game started with an imaginary wind blowing the ball away from the hoop for both teams as they couldn’t make their shots. Eventually, the shots fell and Seatle connected on more of them to take the lead.

The Storm went up by four, but Jackson’s signature fadeaway cut the deficit to two with 5:20 left in the quarter. A few great energy plays from the Storm saw them score eight straight to make it a 10-point game. At the end of the first, LA was down nine.

Sims scored six straight points to start the second frame, while the rest of the team kept falling apart and turning the ball over.

Seattle’s defense was suffocating LA, who couldn’t stop throwing the ball away each time they tried to pass. The Sparks could not stop the Storm from scoring with ease.

The lead extended to 13 for Seattle and LA looked like they were already in the locker rooms for halftime. Hamby scored five straight points to inject some life into the team so they could begin to chip away at the deficit.

The small amount of life the Sparks showed didn't last as the Storm kept their foot on the gas and were up 52-38 at the break.

Los Angeles had more energy to start the second half. They scored four points and Seattle looked a little rattled. LA rebounded and created more opportunities to score, even if they weren’t converting those shots.

Rae Burrell provided much-needed energy to help the team play better. As we’ve seen all season, the Sparks were chipping away at a big deficit. Seattle answered back strong and went up by 16 after the Sparks got it to within 11.

The Sparks found some consistency with their offense to cut the deficit to nine, with Hamby leading the way. LA had stolen all the momentum to get it to within eight at the end of the third.

The lead went back to 10 for Seattle to start the final frame. The high energy was still there for the young Sparks, but the Storm had picked up their defensive play.

LA started attacking again, slowly chipping away and finding ways to get the basket in the hoop. Sims picked up her play again with back-to-back steals and a layup which helped cut the deficit to seven.

The Sparks managed to control the ball better in the second half with fewer turnovers. Suddenly, Seattle was the team turning the ball and LA found themselves within two.

With 3:39 left, the Sparks leaped ahead after two great plays from Sims. Fouls and turnovers by LA gave the Storm a little momentum to go up three points with 1:53 left.

Both teams were fouling quite a lot in the final seconds which in turn had them taking the lead back from each other. Diggins-Smith pushed it to a three-point game with 3.7 left. Attempt to tie the game from Jackson fell short and the Storm ran away with the win.

Key Takeaways:

A lot of respect should be given to this young Sparks team for battling so hard during games. They’ve had so many opportunities to steal wins.

Sims had a monster game, after injuring her right hand in the last matchup between both teams. She’s been a huge boost in the few games she’s been with the team.

Hamby is the most improved player of the year. No debate. Zero debate. A debate does not exist. (Editor’s note: Some debate exists)

The Sparks’ next game will be against the Phoenix Mercury on Tuesday at 7:30 PM PT.

You can follow Karin on Twitter at @KarinAbcarians.