By: Dominique Williams
LOS ANGELES, CA — Rickea Jackson scored 23 points and grabbed four rebounds plus three steals, Dearica Hamby added 10 points and seven rebounds to keep the Los Angeles Sparks in a steady lead. However, Brionna Jones and DiJonai Carrington scored in double figures followed by Alyssa Thomas recorded her third triple-double of the season Sunday night to help the Connecticut Sun beat the Sparks 79-67.
Dearica Hamby went for a block attempt on Alyssa Thomas’ lay up in Sunday’s game. (Dominique Williams /Annenberg Media / Dominique Williams Media LLC)
How it Happened:
Rickea Jackson got the shots going first off a lay-up with an assist from Azura Stevens. Both teams came out great offensively, tied the game four times and traded lead changes in the first half of the contest.
In the second quarter at the 8:32 mark Rickea Jackson’s cosmic performance went 7-0 against the Sun defense to give the Sparks a 16-4 scoring run over 5:45. Although some pressure from the Sun was applied, Sparks finished the half with a buzzer-beater 3-pointer by Kia Nurse making it 45-39.
Rickea Jackson scores a jump shot over DiJonai Carrington. (Dominique Williams /Annenberg Media / Dominique Williams Media LLC)
The Sparks hot hands started to fade when Connecticut trimmed a 7-point deficit with Dewanna Bonner’s four made free throws’ to get the Sun within three at the end of the third quarter.
Connecticut hit an offensive surge when Marina Mabrey hit a 3-pointer with 6:26 left in regulation giving the Sun its first lead since 22-20 early in the second quarter. Sparks went scoreless shooting 0 for 5 from the field and committed seven turnovers in a span of six and half minutes. DiJonai Carrington’s all-around performance with the alley-oop layup added to Sun 22-4 scoring run to close out the win.
Connecticut Sun DiJonai Carrington and Brionna Jones scored in double figures versus the Sparks on Sunday. (Dominique Williams/Annenberg Media)
Brionna Jones finished with 21 points, nine rebounds, and two blocks. DiJonai Carrington added 19 points, and five steals and Alyssa Thomas recorded her third triple-double of the season with 12 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists. This marks Thomas’s 11th triple-double
Connecticut Sun’s posted on their X account highlighting DiJonai Carrington joins the 1,000 career points club. According to WNBA.com Carrington now leads the league with most games this season with at least give steals, doing so on three occasions this year. The forward has played for the Suns since she was selected 20th overall in the second round of the 2021 WNBA Draft.
Post Game:
Rickea Jackson on playing 40 minutes and her performance on defense against the Sun:
“I took that to heart. He just told me, as long as you give effort on a defensive end. I can keep you out there longer and longer stretches and things like that. I can’t be a liability on defense. And I didn’t want to be that. I didn’t want to be the weak link.
Dearica Hamby on being the leader in the locker room guiding the younger players on the court.
“I think I got in my head a little bit, just with frustration. I have to be a better leader and, not allowing that to dictate, you know, being able to continue to be vocal.”
Head Coach Curt Miller on Sparks losing the lead in the fourth quarter:
“I thought they made the adjustment. We were getting to the foul line. We were aggressive. We were getting through the paint. We were aggressive off the bounce. We were getting post ups and playing out of it aggressively,” said Miller.
He continues “We’ve got to continue to put pressure on them and try to get to the foul line with how aggressive they play defense, how aggressive they go after shot blocks, even their guards, some of their best shot blockers.”
Miller on Sparks adjustment to Connecticut defensive scheme:
“They really, really congest the paint. You know, we shot 50% from the arc. They probably needed to take more. They really did a nice job taking away the post player,” said Miller.
He continues “We had trouble getting the ball to the paint, so we’ll make some adjustments. This for us. I know that Connecticut is in the playoffs, but with us not in the playoffs, we’re treating this back to back like a playoff series.”
Rickea of the Year:
In the final games of the 2024 regular season, Sparks Rickea Jackson wrote herself into the rookie of the year voting conversation.
Rickea Jackson drives past Connecticut defense with a pick set by Dearica Hamby. (Dominique Williams/Annenberg Media)
On social media, #WNBATwitter fans have voiced their support for her development from Most Improved Rookie to All-Rookie this season. Jackson recorded her 24th game scoring in double figures. It’s the third-most by a Sparks rookie in franchise history.
Jackson is one of five WNBA players this season shooting at least 45.0% from the field, 35.0% from three-point range and 75.0% from the free-throw line. The others? Former MVPs Jonquel Jones & Nneka Ogwumike, 4x All-Star Kayla McBride and 2x All-Star Kelsey Mitchell. Via (X.com/LASparksPR)
Jackson is on pace to be the first WNBA Rookie since 1997 to average 10-plus points, shooting 45-percent from field-goal, and 35-percent from the 3-point.
Up Next:
Los Angeles wraps its two-game homestand with Connecticut Sun on Tuesday, Sept 10th. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. at Crypto.com Arena.
The Courtside Scene 
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