Azurá

Stevens

Brink took an elbow to the nose midway through the second quarter of Thursday’s game when trying to contest the Aces’ NaLyssa Smith’s layup attempt. The elbow left Brink bloody and unable to resume play. She was subbed out at the next deadball and assisted to the locker room by team staff. Azurá Stevens replaced her in the lineup before Brink was ultimately ruled out. Given that the Sparks didn’t qualify for the 2025 postseason, the nose injury will officially end Brink’s sophomore campaign.

Stevens was one of six Los Angeles players to reach double figures in scoring on Sunday, marking the first time she’d tallied double-digit points since August 29. The eighth-year forward had struggled over her previous four games, shooting 7-of-27 from the field and not having finished better than 50.0 percent in either game — Sunday’s 45.5 percent shooting was a step in the right direction. Additionally, Stevens hit the glass hard en route to her ninth double-double of the season, while also making her usual contributions on the defensive end. She’ll look to log another strong performance against the Mercury on Tuesday as the Sparks try to keep their playoff hopes alive.

Hamby had difficulty on both ends of the floor on Friday night. Defending and scoring against Aliyah Boston, one of the strongest and deceptively quick centers in the league has been a challenge for her this entire season. Lead guard Kelsey Plum tried to hit Hamby running the floor in transition multiple times, but either Plum’s pass was to long or Hamby was a little behind in being able to catch the ball. While scoring the basketball was harder to come by for Hamby, when she did score it came on different big-to-big passing actions from her front court partner Azurá Stevens. Hamby did lead her team rebounding the basketball, hauling down seven rebounds on a night when the Sparks were out rebounded 40-30 by the Fever.

Like Kelsey Mitchell on the Fever, Kelsey Plum also had a muted game on Friday night. She began the game shooting 5-for-7 from the floor in the first half but then struggled in the second half, missing all three shots in the third and didn’t even attempt one in the fourth. While Plum didn’t score in the fourth, two of her three total assists came in that final frame. One was an Azurá Stevens three-pointer and the other was to a cutting Julie Allemand near the basket. But with 13 seconds left in regulation and the Sparks down 76-75, Plum turned the ball over after receiving the ball once the Fever defense had broken up the Sparks’ initial play.

Stevens led the Sparks in scoring and served as a point forward on Friday night especially with Kelsey Plum being rendered less effective by the Fever defense. Stevens hit a trio of three-pointers, and moved well off the ball to score at the rim. She hit an-one on driving on a mismatch while being guarded by Odyssey Sims with 2:51 left in regulation to give the Sparks a 70-68 lead. Stevens’ five assists were mostly off high low actions with her front court partner Dearica Hamby along with a Plum three-pointer and a cut to the basket from Julie Allemand. Stevens also moved past WNBA legend Candace Parker for the most games registering at least two three-pointers and two blocks in a game in a single season. Stevens has nine of them with just seven regular season games to go.

Bonner played a critical role off the bench especially when the Mercury struggled to get offensive production from Monique Ako Makani and Natasha Mack. Bonner scored in transition on a bunch of layups at the rim and moved off the ball well. Her final score of the night was the final dagger that put the Sparks away for good. With over 1:20 left in the fourth, Alyssa Thomas drove to the right wing and threw a shovel pass to Bonner in the left corner pocket. While Azurá Stevens was right there on the close out, Bonner dribbled a little to confuse her and then stepped back to nail the three-point shot right over the long outstretched arms of Stevens to put the Mercury up 87-75.

Brink’s impact on the Sparks defense continues to be quite stark. While she didn’t register any blocks on Wednesday night, her rim protection comes also as a result of shot altering and being able to deter paint penetration with her presence alone. When Dearica Hamby struggled in the first half to score, Brink came in and not only anchored the Sparks defense, but made sure to get her team extra possessions on the glass in addition to reading the game well while spacing and cutting off the ball. Brink’s five field goals on Wednesday night came on a pick and pop with Julie Allemand and a bunch of cutting layups on passes from Azurá Stevens. On Wednesday night, Brink registered her most minutes since returning from tearing her ACL and meniscus last season. Also, she had her third double-digit scoring performance since her return.

Brink asked for a substitution in the second quarter after just playing five minutes. Sparks head coach Lynn Roberts didn’t have much of an update postgame but confirmed that Brink tweaked her ankle during the first half of the game. Since Brink has only played for just a couple of weeks following her return from a torn ACL, the Sparks weren’t going to risk anything. “She’s still on a minutes restriction,” Roberts told reporters postgame. “So the decision was made not to put her back in.” Azurá Stevens played in 35 minutes on Tuesday night, more playing time than she usually gets.

Jackson took the most shots for the Sparks on Tuesday night and was one of their least efficient scorers. She made much more difficult jump shots, taking and making multiple step backs while she missed her much more open and high percentage shots on the perimeter. Jackson was most effective when her offense came in rhythm, meaning on drives off the catch or on a mismatch instead of her just trying to create offense on an island. She missed a bunch of easy looks at the rim that she would typically make. Amid her shooting struggles, Jackson made sure to get on the glass. Behind Azurá Stevens, she was the Sparks’ best rebounder on Tuesday night.

Stevens was the Sparks’ most efficient player on Tuesday night, shooting over 63% from the field as she continues to make her case for Most Improved Player. She has scored in double-digits for the Sparks in 10 of her last 12 games. Her made looks on Tuesday night were mostly right at the rim with the majority of her scoring happening in the third quarter. She was able to blow by the Liberty’s defense on drives and score over smaller guard defenders on switches. Stevens also had four assists as she found front court partner Dearica Hamby and wing Rae Burrell for two scores each. Her three steals helped the Sparks get out and score in transition, contributing to the Sparks’ 18 total points scored off Liberty turnovers.