LOS ANGELES — The Sparks will again look to win their first game of the 2024 WNBA season when they square off against the Washington Mystics on Tuesday night at Long Beach State.
The Sparks (0-2) are led by two-time All-Star forward Dearica Hamby, who is averaging a double-double with 24.5 points and 11.5 rebounds and had a game-high 29 points and nine rebounds in the team’s 89-82 loss to the Las Vegas Aces on Saturday.
Despite a pair of losses, the Sparks were competitive against the two-time WNBA champions.
Sparks guard Kia Nurse, who is nearly three years removed from a season-ending ACL injury in October 2021, is averaging 18 points per game, well above her career high of 13.7 in her lone All-Star season. Guard Lexie Brown is averaging 12 points and rookie forward Rickea Jackson is averaging 10 points, including 13 off the bench against the Aces.
However, the Sparks are struggling to find enough consistent scoring from the bench. Outside of Jackson’s 13 points, the bench players combined to score six points against the Aces between Zia Cooke (four) and Stephanie Talbot (two). Neither Aari McDonald nor Li Yueru scored.
The Sparks are shooting 37.8% from 3-point range, which is the second-best mark in the league so far and well above last season’s 33.3%, which was ninth among 12 teams.
Washington (0-3) is led by two-time All-Star guard Ariel Atkins (15.7 ppg). Former Sparks guard Brittney Sykes, who suffered an ankle injury on May 17 against the Connecticut Sun, is considered day-to-day.
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The Mystics are coming off an 84-75 home loss to the Seattle Storm on Sunday, in which Atkins has a team-high 19 points and rookie forward Aaliyah Edwards, the No. 6 pick in the draft out of Connecticut, had nine points and 11 rebounds.
Edwards will battle inside against Sparks rookie forward Cameron Brink, the No. 2 pick in the draft from Stanford. It will be imperative for both players to stay out of foul trouble, especially because Brink, who is averaging seven points and five rebounds, had a game-high five blocked shots in 25 minutes against the Aces.
Tuesday’s contest against Washington is the first of three for the Sparks this week. They host Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever on Friday and Arike Ogunbowale and the Dallas Wings on Sunday.
WASHINGTON (0-3) AT SPARKS (0-2)
When: Tuesday, 7 p.m.
Where: Walter Pyramid, Long Beach State
TV: Spectrum SportsNet
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