The Los Angeles Sparks quelled a rally by the Las Vegas Aces to close out a 98-93 overtime win Friday, and snap a franchise-tying record eight-game losing streak.
Dearica Hamby lead the charge against her former team, with 28 points and 14 rebounds, while Aari McDonald put up a career-high 23 points for the Sparks’ first win since June 9, when they beat the Aces.
“I’m super-proud of this group tonight,” coach Curt Miller said. “They just played with a toughness and grittiness from start to finish.”
The matchup, which featured 15 ties and 17 lead changes, began with a 7-0 Las Vegas run. Los Angeles answered with their own 7-0 run, and trailed by just 3 points to end the quarter. In the second frame, the visitors got into foul trouble, and the Sparks limited Aces star A’ja Wilson to just 2 points, while ending the period on a 9-0 run to take a 10-point advantage into the break.
The hosts picked up where they left off in the third, running up a 15-point lead. But Las Vegas got hot in the fourth, using a 7-0 run to take a 75-74 lead with 5:44 remaining. A Wilson bucket put her team up 84-82, but Los Angeles forward Stephanie Talbot’s shot, with 3 seconds to go, tied the game and…
