The Los Angeles Sparks have been bringing competitive effort, showing they can contend against the best teams in the league. An example of this was their 83-89 loss to the Seattle Storm.
“Proud of our growth and proud of our play,” said Sparks head coach Curt Miller. “While it’s not always equating into wins, we’ve come a long way since May basketball in the W.”
The Sparks saw four players reach the double digits battling against a 30-point contribution from guard Jewell Loyd and a double-double from forward Nneka Ogwumike.
Center Azurà Stevens made a career-high 15 rebounds while scoring 24 points. She also went 3-5 from three-point range. Disrupting Ogwumike was their focus prior to the matchup.
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“She’s one of the most decorated players especially rebounding-wise,” Stevens said. “She still had a great night on the glass but we tried our hardest.”
This is the fourth game for Stevens this season after recovering from an arm injury she sustained while competing in China. She currently averages 14.8 points, 8.8 rebounds, and 3.3 assists.
Forward Rae Burrell came off the bench to score 18 points in the effort. Stevens mentioned that Burrell is one of the players who is the “glue” of the team.
“[Burrell] is full of energy and life, you can just see that. She’s like a jokester,” Stevens said. “She works so hard, she puts in the work every day.”
After persevering through an injury during her rookie season, Burrell stayed diligent and patient. She averaged 11.1 minutes per game for 29 games last season. The game on Tuesday marked the second time in July that Burrell played for over 30 minutes.
Miller also noticed the growth of rookie forward Rickea Jackson, who scored 16 points against the Storm.
“[Jackson] has learned so much as a rookie … there’s not enough noise about what Rickea Jackson is doing,” Miller said. “I hope that the national buzz continues to pick up because she has a really, really bright future.”
Jackson started in 18 contests and is third on the team in scoring with 11.2 points per game.
The Sparks head into the Olympic break with a 6-18 record. Jackson believes the team will continue to improve when the season resumes.
“I feel like those games that we lost it was because of us … we’re capable, we’re there. It’s just us,” Jackson said. “We’re trending in the right direction.”
The Sparks will return to action on August 15 when they host the New York Liberty at 6:00P.M.
