Indianapolis, IN – The Los Angeles Sparks came back late in the fourth quarter with a 6-0 run and 1:43 remaining in the game to collect another road win, 89-87 against the Indiana Fever playing without the face of their franchise, Caitlin Clark, Saturday night at Gainsbridge Fieldhouse.
Sparks found balanced scoring inside the paint and outside the perimeter with four starters hitting double digits fueled from a collective team effort on defense to give head coach Lynne Roberts plenty of positives to leave Indiana headed back to LA.
“Obviously, we felt like we let the New York game kind of get away from us in that third quarter. I think Indiana went on runs tonight and we withstood them, so it’s just growth,” Azurá Stevens said. “I’m proud of the team for not just disintegrating when they went on their run. We just found a way to come back and punch it right back at them and made tough plays at the end.”
Coach Roberts expressed as well what she thought of her team finding away to come from behind and win.
“We were down eight in the fourth quarter, and our players didn’t flinch, and that’s the sign of toughness and playing to win,” coach Roberts said.
Stevens led the Sparks with a double-double, 21 points and 12 rebounds. Plum added 20 points off of shooting 50 percent from deep range and 100 percent from the charity stripe.
The Sparks starters played well together dishing 22 assists and only seven turnovers after dropping two games since defeating Fever almost two weeks ago. The Fever came in with a three game winning streak after taking the Commissioner Cup championship from Minnesota their previous game.
“Coaches emphasized [efficient offense] all year, just shot quality, and I thought tonight we did a really good job moving the ball,” Kelsey Plum added. “It’s super evenly distributed in field goals, which is what we want. We want everyone to be a threat, we want everyone to be firing on all cylinders.”
Neither team was able to dominate or command a huge lead as the game came down to the final minutes. Just in the first quarter there featured five lead changes and six ties.
Indiana led both quarters in the first half, taking a three point advantage into halftime, 45-42.
Fever carried that momentum into the third, going up eight midway thru the quarter. Sparks answered back with Stevens heating up behind the arc and the Sparks nailing all five triples attempted during the period, to take a three point lead, their largest of the game.
“Everyone took turns in picking their spots, and Azurá Stevens hit some big shots,” Plum said. “I think she’s probably one of the most underrated players in our league [and] doesn’t get the attention she deserves. What she’s doing, the way she’s shooting, how efficient she is. Defensively, she’s just a nightmare for people.”
In the second half, it was Dearica Hamby and Rickea Jackson turn after Stevens and Plum first half performance set the tone for the Sparks. Hamby finished with 18 points and four assists. Jackson added 15 points and a career high 5 assists as her teammates took notice of her putting the team up by one, 88-87 at the end of the game.
“Rickea was really great at the end just coming through with that clutch…,” Stevens said. “I thought she had great looks in the first half they just didn’t fall, so for her to just to stick with it, I think was really good and just a sign of growth.”
Refusing to not let her team lose after Jackson’s “grown woman” move, Stevens snagged a critical rebound, preventing Indiana another opportunity to take the lead after multiple attempts and plays to draw a foul, before being fouled herself with 3.3 seconds remaining in the game.
“Defensively, I thought Azurá made the play of the game, just coming over, getting that stop on Boston,” Plum said.
Stevens went 1 for 2 from the free throw line, keeping a small window frame of hope for the Fever with a chance to advance the ball through a reset timeout, before Aliyah Boston missed at top of the key for the win.
The Sparks return to Los Angeles for a three-game homestand leading into the 2025 WNBA All-Star break. First up is the Minnesota Lynx on July 10 at 12 p.m., followed by the Connecticut Sun and Washington Mystics.
