Sparks Drop WNBA Opener To Atlanta Dream

(East Los Angeles, CA) [From The Editor’s Desk]: The Los Angeles Sparks opened its brand new 2024 season with a different group of players and a very good effort, but one that did not cover the full (48:00) minutes of the game. Unfortunately, Sparks’ Head Coach Curt Miller, had to witness his team’s untimely letdown on defense as the Dream put up 9 unanswered points in the “nitty-gritty” time to start the final period of the game that eventually gave them the hard-fought victory.

The Pyramid scoreboard showed the final score as Atlanta 92, Los Angeles 81. There was however, lots of optimism that Coach Miller showed during the post-game press conference and it centered on the nice meshing of his veteran players, Dearica Hamby who turned in her 27th double-double, Layshia Clarendon, who put up her very first “triple-double,” and newly acquired, Guard, Kia Nurse’s five 3-pointers, very much-welcomed by the Coach, He also appreciated how his two draft picks, Cameron Brink, and Rickea Jackson performed in their debut game of the new WNBA season.

[GAME FACTS]

Date of Game #1: May 15, 2024/Wednesday; Tip-Off: 7:00 pm; Site of Game: Walter Pyramid Arena, Cal State University, Long Beach; Televised On: Spectrum SportsNet With “Play-By-Play” Announcer: Rahshaun Haylock; Color Commentary By: Mary Murphy; Sideline Reporter: Nikki Kay;  Attendance: 3,847 (Sell-out)

Here is the Game Summary submitted by the Sparks Communication Team with a full overview of the game and its outstanding statistical review. 

[GAME STATS & POST-GAME NOTES]

Game #1: Los Angeles Sparks vs. Atlanta Dream

                                       [POINTS BY QUARTERS]

                                                 [PTS]              [REB]               [ASSTS]

[1st Qtr]:

• Cameron Brink scored her first WNBA basket, a layup, with (8:18) left in the first quarter to give the Sparks a (5-2) lead
• A 7-0 Sparks run brought the LA lead to 9-2
• Los Angeles never trailed in the quarter
• The Sparks shot 66.7% in the frame, going 10-for-15 from the field
• Los Angeles had eight assists in the quarter, compared to Atlanta’s one

[2nd Qtr]:

• Atlanta took its first lead of the game, 27-26, on an Aerial Powers free throw at 9:47
• Tina Charles scored the Dream’s last 11 points to put her team up 41-32 with 4:33 remaining
• Cameron Brink drained her first career WNBA three-pointer with 1:49 remaining in the half to cut the Sparks’ deficit to 44-43
• Following a Lexie Brown steal, Kia Nurse converted both free throws to tie the game at 46 with 36 seconds left
• Rickea Jackson made her first career WNBA basket, a lay-up, with time expiring in the half to tie the game at 48 
• Atlanta’s Tiina Charles scored 14 points in the quarter, making all six shots she attempted
• Dearica Hamby led the Sparks at halftime with 13 points and six rebounds
• Layshia Clarendon had a game-high six assists at the half
• The Sparks had 15 assists at halftime

[HALF-TIME SCORE]:   L.A. SPARKS   48       ATLANTA  DREAM   48

3rd Qtr]:

• Kia Nurse’s three-pointer at 7:50 gave the Sparks a 55-51 lead. Layshia Clarendon, with the assist, tied Dream guard Jordin Canada for 55th on the WNBA all-time assists list…Dream center Tina Charles stands 54th on the list
• A 7-0 Dream run, including five points from guard Haley Jones, gave Atlanta a 58-56 advantage
• Rickea Jackson completed an and-1 to tie the game at 64 with 1:22 remaining in the quarter
• Jackson scored the last five points of the quarter for the Sparks

[4th Qtr]:

• Dearica Hamby notched her 10th rebound of the game and 27th career double-double with 8:25 left in the contest
• The Dream’s 9-0 run to begin the quarter gave them a 75-66 advantage with 7:22 on the clock
• Clarendon passed Canada for 55th all-time on the WNBA assists list with an assist to Cameron Brink at 4:03
• Layshia Clarendon collected her first career triple-double with an assist on Cameron Brink’s three-pointer with 1:34 remaining in the game. It is the fourth triple-double in franchise history, the first since Chelsea Gray’s in 2019
• Layshia Clarendon notched a career-high nine defensive rebounds. Her previous high was eight, which she tallied twice in 2017

[FINAL SCORE]:  Atlanta Dream  (1-0)  92    L.A. Sparks  (0-1)  81

[MAIN TAKEAWAYS]: 

• The announced attendance is 3,847, a sellout of Walter Pyramid
• The competitive game included seven ties and five lead changes
• Layshia Clarendon recorded her first career triple-double
• Dearica Hamby collected her 27th career double-double
• Kia Nurse (5-for-11 from beyond the arc) came within one converted three of tying her career-high
• Rhyne Howard scored 19 of her game-high 25 points in the final three quarters, and Tina Charles notched a double-double with 21 points and 14 rebounds
• Atlanta outscored Los Angeles in points in the paint 50-30 and 19-10 in fast break points
• After shooting 54.8% in the first half, the Sparks converted 26.8% of their second-half field-goal attempts
• Los Angeles tallied 24 assists Wednesday, two shy of its 2023 season-high

[Special Note From The Editor]: Sparks next play at Las Vegas on Saturday (May 18) at 12:00 noon on ABC, before returning home to host the Washington Mystics next Tuesday (May 21) at Walter Pyramid.