Julie

Allemand

With Rickea Jackson (leg) and Julie Allemand (ankle) out on Thursday, Burrell and Barker will start in their place for the Sparks in their season finale. The Sparks were eliminated from playoff contention on Tuesday, so Jackson’s and Allemand’s inactive statuses shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise as they battle injuries. With one game left in the season, the Sparks will have a chance to finish with a .500 record if they can defeat the Aces on Thursday.

Jackson and Allemand are the only two players on the Sparks’ injury report ahead of their season finale on Thursday. Both players participated in the Sparks’ most recent game against the Mercury on Tuesday. Yet, with Los Angeles now officially eliminated from playoff contention, the statuses of the two players ahead of their matchup with the Aces will be worth monitoring. Should either player miss Thursday’s game, Rae Burrell, Julie Vanloo and Sarah Ashlee Barker would all be candidates to fill in as starters.

In one of the Sparks’ most important games of the season, Allemand put forth a stellar performance against the Wings. The third-year guard didn’t get many opportunities to score, but made the most of her chances by going without a miss on her eight shot attempts. Three of her makes came from beyond the arc, as she scored in double figures for the first time since the Sparks’ most recent meeting against the Wings on August 15. She led Los Angeles in scoring and assists while collecting a season-high in steals along the way. Allemand will look to have another positive impact on Tuesday against the Mercury as the Sparks try to stay alive in the playoff race.

Plum wasn’t her most efficient on Friday night, shooting 40% from the field and struggled to convert looks on drives to the rim that she typically makes. Plum was guarded well by both the Dream’s Jordin Canada and Maya Caldwell. Plum hit two three-pointers on Friday night and passed Nicole Powell for 14th on the WNBA’s all-time three-point makes list. She facilitated the ball well and found Dearica well spaced on the perimeter for a drive to the basket in addition to on a pick-and-roll action. Plum also kicked the ball out to Julie Allemand with 4:51 left in the fourth quarter for a wide open three-pointer.

Hamby was super efficient on Friday night, shooting over 73% from the field against the Dream. Her performance marked the fourth time in a row where she shot over 50% from the field and it was her fourth consecutive game with 20 or more points. Hamby did an excellent job of taking advantage of the mismatch she posed at the center position. She blew past both Brionna Jones and Brittney Griner multiple times on drives and took advantage of her size advantage when the Dream were switching, and as a result there was a smaller defender on her. Hamby was on triple-double watch also finishing the game with seven rebounds and five assists to three different teammates including Rickea Jackson, Julie Allemand and Kelsey Plum.

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.

Sims must have had some juice against the Sparks, her former team from earlier this season that cut her in favor of Julie Allemand returning from EuroBasket. After showing out against the Seattle Storm, she continued that momentum against her former team, and recorded yet another 20 piece, her first back-to-back 20+ point games of the season. Sims went on a a 5-0 run herself to help the Fever defeat the Sparks in the final minute of a game that had gone back-and-fourth throughout all four quarters. First she hit a right wing three over Allemand’s late closeout and then Sims drove right to the basket and scored against a Sparks lineup lacking rim protection.

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.

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.

Plum began the game quite passive, only taking two shots in the first quarter. In the second quarter she gave her team a lift by scoring 7 of their 22 second quarter points but then came out of halftime passive once again only taking two shots and missing both. But once the Sparks entered the fourth quarter down by seven points, Plum’s aggression had to hit another level. She attempted 12 shots in the fourth quarter alone and she put points on the board by primarily putting pressure on the rim. While most of Plum’s scoring came on the ball, Julie Allemand found her for a pivotal layup cutting through the middle of the paint with under five minutes left in regulation. But the most critical moment for Plum came with less than 10 seconds left in the game and the Sparks down 80-79. Plum got downhill passing multiple Wings defenders and released a bank shot floater in the middle of the paint with 0.08 seconds left to win the game as the final buzzer sounded.