WASHINGTON — Dearica Hamby made three key baskets in the final four minutes and finished with 24 points and 14 rebounds as the Sparks beat the Washington Mystics, 93-86, on Tuesday night to push their winning streak to three games.
In addition to Hamby’s 48th career double-double, Rickea Jackson scored 20 of her 22 points in the second half for the Sparks (9-14), who have back-to-back victories over Washington, before and after the WNBA All-Star break.
The Sparks led 81-78 before scoring nine straight points, capped by Hamby’s baseline jumper with 1:54 left for a 12-point lead. Kelsey Plum sealed it on a long 3-pointer with 49.1 seconds left.
Azura Stevens added 15 points, and Plum finished with 11 points, seven assists and three 3-pointers for the Sparks, who hadn’t won back-to-back games all season until this recent surge. Jackson made four of the Sparks’ 13 3-pointers.
Hamby shot 10 for 14 from the field on a night when the Sparks shot 51.5% as a team and outscored Washington 39-21 from behind the arc.
Brittney Sykes led Washington (11-12) with 18 points and Shakira Austin added 17. Former USC star Kiki Iriafen scored 13. Sonia Citron, Washington’s second-leading scorer at 14.1 points per game, finished with seven points, five assists and three steals. Citron did not attempt her first field goal until midway through the third quarter.
Washington was held to just nine points in the second quarter and trailed 40-35 after opening the game on an 18-3 run. It was the second-lowest point total allowed by the Sparks in a quarter this season.
Sykes made a fast-break layup with 0.2 seconds left in the third quarter to tie the score at 67-all. Citron pushed the Mystics’ lead to 71-67 in the first minute of the fourth, but the Sparks took control from there as Hamby and Jackson scored 10 points apiece.
The Sparks, who overcame 16 turnovers, turned an early 15-point deficit into a 40-35 halftime lead in part by outscoring Washington 24-9 in the second quarter.
The Mystics scored the game’s first eight points and built that advantage to 18-3 less than six minutes into the game. But the Sparks recovered and were within 27-25 less than four minutes into the second quarter. The Sparks went ahead on Stevens’ basket with 2:29 left in the half.
The Sparks beat the Mystics, 99-80, last week at Crypto.com Arena.