Los Angeles, CA – Los Angeles Sparks brought an ‘all or nothing’ approach against the Dallas Wings led by unheralded duo of Julie Allemand perfect stat line and Azurá Stevens’ ninth triple double of the season, 13 points and 11 boards, to continue Sparks’ playoff push after a confident booster high scoring victory, 91-77.
The Sparks brought all the smoke in the first half led by Rickea Jackson and Stevens in the first half with, 9 and 11 points, respectively.
Sparks played a good, constant offensive flow funneled from a great defensive downpour to wash away the Wings’ upset attempt and remaining as the worst team of the league according to their record.
“I think defensively, Rae [Burrell] was all over the place…she just brought so much energy and it fueled offense,” Stevens said. “Like coach said, Julie [Allemand] was just all over the place, and really reading when they tried to get it to Paige [Bueckers] where we got some good steals in the beginning.”
Sparks defended Bueckers much better than their last meetup where she had a 40 piece but slowed down this game by forced turnovers and doubled teams which she did not get into the scoring action until the second quarter, making her first two points of the game at the free throw line.
“We put her on their non-shooter because Julie[ Allemand] has such a high IQ and a good knack for the offense that she was trying to do, and you saw that today, like she just got some key steals,” Coach Lynne Roberts said. “She’s just so smart, you know, I think that worked out well, where we tried to limit [Paige] Bueckers as much as we could, and send Julie around as being kind of all help and fly around.”
The Sparks soared to a nine-point lead at the end of the first half, 42-33.
Then the Wings came out and started the second half with some key adjustments to their game plan as shown through their scoring output almost matching the same amount of points scored when combining both quarters in the first half.
Los Angeles held Dallas to nine percent from behind the arc for the first two quarters but let them catch a fire in the third to shoot 42 percent.
“Tonight should be a confidence booster. Other than the start of the third quarter, I thought we did a good job, and Rae [Burrell] played some good minutes, and was so active defensively, coach Roberts said. “[Sarah Ashlee Barker] didn’t hit shots, but she was plus 18, [and] did a tremendous job defensively too.”
Sparks held on to their lead to close the third quarter, 66-64, with only one second left, after Allemand drilled a nail in the coffin triple assisted by Barker.
Sparks as a team refueled and returned to their all or nothing attitude early in the gamey with opening the fourth quarter on a 16-0 run.
“[Six players in double-digit scoring] looks like the box score from a few weeks ago, where we were humming on offense a little bit better,” Coach Roberts said.
Notable backcourt Sparks starters, Jackson and Plum got to rest plus recover most of the fourth period which provided opportunities for not only bench players to reap but a rare offensive performance from Allemand whom carved her name into the league’s record books with an stacked, unblemished stat line becoming first WNBA player to record at least 20 points and five steals in a regular-season game while shooting 100% from the floor.
“I’m just trying to read the game every time. I don’t care about shooting most of the time…I’m trying [to] just to read the game and today I had more [chances] than [usual], Allemand said. “So I took it, and it was in. So, when it’s like this, it’s just amazing because then you keep going and you feel good, you feel confident on the court, and that’s how I felt today… I just care about the win today. That was the most important… When we play as a team, I really enjoy it. That’s really what matters to me.”
Sparks continue their playoff push keeping hope alive as they gear up for a quick turnaround road trip to Phoenix on Tuesday, September 9th, facing the Mercury on their home floor. Then return home to close out the regular season against the Las Vegas Aces on Thursday, Sept. 11 (7 p.m. PT).
