LOS ANGELES — The Sparks are seeking to end a three-game losing streak when they host the winless Chicago Sky on Sunday at Crypto.com Arena.
The Sparks lost all three games against Chicago last season, who are led by All-Star forward Angel Reese. The former LSU star is averaging seven points and 14.5 rebounds in two games.
Chicago’s leading scorer is reserve guard Rachel Banham at 11.5 points. The Sky (0-2) are averaging a league-low 66 points per game.
The Sparks, who are averaging 79.5 points per game, are coming off a disappointing 82-73 home loss against the Golden State Valkyries on Friday night. The Sparks’ bench was outscored 30-6 and outplayed.
All-Star forward Dearica Hamby scored a game-high 25 points. She also had six rebounds and three blocked shots.
“I just do what I do consistently, just trying to bring energy,” Hamby said. “Definitely picked up the defensive energy. Got some good hustle plays and wanted to get us the momentum, but I want to win, so I’m willing to do whatever.”
However, the Sparks were undone by Golden State’s 18-0 run to begin the second quarter. They were outscored 25-9 in the second and trailed 49-35 at halftime. The Sparks fought back again for the second straight game in the fourth quarter but ultimately could not pull off the comeback.
“I was really frustrated with the second quarter,” Sparks coach Lynne Roberts said. “We missed some shots that I think we were expecting to make and then that just affected our defense and we stopped the game plan.
“Like we weren’t running, we weren’t moving it, we got caught trying to do too much one-on-one. Yeah, it’s bad. We gotta fix it. We gotta put up a full 40 minutes together. We haven’t done it yet this season.”
Through four games, All-Star guard Kelsey Plum is averaging a career-high 24 points, five assists and three steals. Hamby is averaging 18.5 points and 8.3 rebounds. Center Azurá Stevens is averaging a career-high 15.3 points and 9.5 rebounds.
The Sparks are shooting 41.5% from the field, including 35% from beyond the arc. They are top six in the league in both categories but are 10th out of 13 teams in the league standings.
Rookie guard Sarah Ashlee Barker, the team’s first-round draft pick, received her second start in place of forward Rickea Jackson, who has missed the last two games because of concussion protocol.
Barker, who initially thought her role would be to provide energy, effort and execution off the bench, had a career-high seven points, four rebounds, four assists and two steals in 29 minutes Friday night.
“From the mental aspect of it, just (have a) next-play mentality,” Barker said. “I have great coaches who believe in me, trust in me, and like Coach said, we play Chicago in 36 hours, so you gotta move on to the next and just be ready for the next moment.”
Sparks forwards Cameron Brink and Rae Burrell will remain sidelined for several more weeks due to knee injuries.
CHICAGO (0-2) AT SPARKS (1-3)
When: 3 p.m. Sunday
Where: Crypto.com Arena
TV: Spectrum SportsNet
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