Sparks Unrivaled Check-In: Dearica Hamby is unstoppable
Another week of Unrivaled action reminds us just how good Sparks forward Dearica Hamby is.
Welcome to our Sparks Unrivaled Update Series! There are four Sparks players participating in the inaugural season of Unrivaled. We will be doing a weekly recap on how these players are doing in Miami as they play some 3x3 basketball in a competitive environment during the WNBA offseason.
With a pair of games on the schedule, Dearica Hamby arguably had her best week in Unrivaled with two monster performances. Rae Burrell was right alongside her for Team Vinyl and Rickea Jackson was putting up buckets in bunches during Team Mist’s win over Phantom.
Once again, Azurá Stevens did not play for Team Rose, as she is out with a leg injury. Her squad split their two games this week.
Let’s dive deeper into what happened during this past week’s slate of games for the Sparks players participating in Unrivaled.
Team Vinyl
Hamby was as dominant as ever for Team Vinyl. She had 17 points and six rebounds in the win over the Laces and scored the game-clinching free throws. Her performance against the Lunar Owls was even more impressive. She scored 31 points and grabbed 11 rebounds in the 78-72 defeat.
On Friday, Dearica Hamby won the game for Vinyl at the free-throw line. She posted 17 points on an efficient 6-for-11 FG and a perfect 3-for-3 from beyond the arc. Teammate Rae Burrell was integral off the bench with seven points (3-for-6 FG; 1-for-2 3PT), one steal and one… https://t.co/MbxZFuFH1Y
— LA Sparks PR (@LASparksPR) March 1, 2025
Although the loss is disappointing, the Owls have only lost one game, so it was encouraging to see Vinyl push them to the limit, with Hamby leading the charge.
Burrell was serviceable in both games, but she performed her best in the first matchup of the week, scoring seven points in the win over the Laces.
Team Mist
Jackson was feast or famine for the Mist this week. In their first game against the Phantom, she had 20 points on 7-12 shooting and her team easily won 88-62.
Sparks forward Rickea Jackson starred at Unrivaled Friday evening:
— LA Sparks PR (@LASparksPR) March 1, 2025
Mist W (moved into fifth place)
20 PTS (7-for-12 FG; 2-for-5 3PT)
6 REB
2 STL
In Saturday’s 71-62 win against Team Rose, she was far worse. Jackson scored just three points during her six minutes of play. In that span, she had five fouls, which honestly is kind of impressive.
Upcoming Games
With this being the final week of regular season action for Unrivaled, there is still a lot to figure out. The playoffs will feature four teams and the Lunar Owls and Rose have already clinched. This means that there are two positions left and there is currently a three-way tie for third with Vinyl, Mist and the Laces all having a 5-7 record. So, it’ll come down to these final games to decide who will advance and whose time in Miami is over.
Hamby and Burrell will play for Team Vinyl on Saturday against Phantom and then end their regular season action with a Monday contest with Team Rose.
Rickea Jackson and Team Mist will play the Laces on Saturday and then conclude with a tough game against the Lunar Owls on Monday.
If Stevens plays for Rose this week, then she’ll have games to compete in on Friday against the Lunar Owls and on Monday against Hamby, Burrell and Team Vinyl.
All games are streaming on MAX.
You can follow Edwin on Twitter at @ECreates88 or on Bluesky at @ecreates88.bsky.social.