Fourth quarter rally from Sky sends Sparks to fourth straight loss

Despite a strong start, the Sparks were once again the victims of a second half rally as they fell to the Sky on Tuesday.

The Sparks are finding new ways to lose. On Tuesday, they completely fell apart in the fourth, getting outscored 30-17 to lose to the Sky 97-86.

Azurá Stevens played well in this disappointing loss, finishing with 21 points, seven rebounds and four 3-pointers. Kelsey Plum had 20 points and five assists and Dearica Hamby flirted with a double-double with 15 points and seven rebounds.

Things started well for Los Angeles in this one. They started on a 10-2 run, with Stevens scoring half of these points on her way to a dominant game.

Chicago had a five-point burst thanks to Kamilla Cardoso immediately after, but Rickea Jackson scored the next four points for L.A. and they maintained their lead for the remainder of the quarter.

The Sky struggled shooting the ball, going 29-17 from the field during the first ten minutes and the Sparks were ahead 6-20 entering the second quarter.

The 29-point quarter for the Sparks was the most they’ve scored this season during an opening period.

Chicago wasn’t going to just bow out for the rest of the first half. They started the second on an 11-2 run and, after a steal by Michaela Onyenwere and a basket from Angel Reese, the Sparks' lead was back down to just three points.

Rookie Sarah Ashlee Barker converted on a 3-pointer to give the Sparks a two-possession lead again.

Scoring slowed down for both sides as field goals were few and far between, but Stevens made another 3-pointer midway through the second quarter to give the Sparks a nine-point lead. Shey Peddy added a basket inside, and Stevens hit another shot from deep. Suddenly, L.A. was back up by double figures.

Dearica Hamby scored on a driving layup and the Sparks were up by 14 points, their largest lead of the night.

Hailey Van Lith then converted an and-one play to stop the bleeding for Chicago.

Jackson had an impressive block on Kia Nurse with 90 seconds left in the quarter, but she recovered well and still scored a 3-pointer.

Elizabeth Williams made a free throw for the Sky and the two sides entered the halftime break with the Sparks ahead 48-42.

Similar to the start of the second quarter, the Sky began the third on a run. Rebecca Allen scored on a long two, and Angel Reese scored quickly inside to make it a two-point game.

Hamby scored three the hard way, but Cardoso made a shocking 3-pointer from the corner for Chicago, her first-ever three in the WNBA. After Reese completed a 3-point play, the Sky were within one.

Fortunately for the Sparks, Plum scored on a layup to keep Chicago from taking the lead. However, Allen made a 3-pointer with 2:10 left in the quarter, tying the game.

Allen evened things again moments later with another basket, but Plum’s late layup made it a 69-67 Sparks advantage entering the final quarter.

The fourth quarter began tight and competitive, with both teams exchanging baskets.

The Sky ended the parity with four straight points, punctuated with a Cardoso layup that gave the Sky their first lead of the game with 7:23 left in the game.

Head coach Lynne Roberts subbed Jackson and Peddy back into the game, but Cardoso continued to dominate, scoring three more unanswered points.

Plum drew a foul and made her free throws, ending the nearly 3-minute scoring drought.

Cardoso remained hot, scoring at will. Suddenly, Los Angeles could not stop the run, and Chicago was up by eight. Stevens fouled Cardoso on a shot attempt, giving her a sixth personal foul and ending her night.

Cardoso scored yet again inside the following possession, giving her a career-high 27 points and all but securing the win for Chicago.

Key Takeaways:

With the Sparks struggling to win games, they can’t afford to lose matchups against under .500 teams like the Sky.

This loss is especially unacceptable considering they led for three quarters and, at one point, were up by 14 points.

If they continue to lose games like this, it won’t matter when they get healthy because the postseason will be too far out of reach.

The Sparks’ next game will be Thursday against the Indiana Fever at 4:00 PM PT.

You can follow Edwin on Twitter at @ECreates88 or on Bluesky at @ecreates88.bsky.social.