Dearica Hamby Said “We Played Like Sh*t,” Then Flexed 24/14
The Sparks Are Cooking & Washington’s Serving Cold Sides
The Los Angeles Sparks started the season looking like a group project. Dearica Hamby and Kelsey Plum were looking like the students that did everyone’s part.
But lately? They’re hooping like they actually like each other.
That includes three straight wins—two of them over the Washington Mystics—and Tuesday night’s 93–86 victory proved it.
Dearica Hamby is the system, Rickea Jackson is awake now, and Washington? They’re still playing like they’re stuck in a team-building exercise.
Hamby (one of the most underrated players in the WNBA) went off for 24 and 14 with enough energy to power every fake candle at a WNBA proposal.
Rickea? She dropped 22, with 20 of those in the second half—after telling her coach she was “in Indiana” to start the game. Which… yeah, we saw it.
“I’m feeling pretty good,” Rickea said. “I joked with coach and said I was in Indiana in that first half…”
The good news?
She got the hell out of Indiana by halftime.
Rickea Gets Confident, Dearica Stays Steady, Sparks Get Dangerous
LA’s got weapons.
That’s not us saying it—that’s Sydney Johnson, the opposing coach.
“LA is good… really good offensive team,” said Mystics coach Syd Johnson. “A lot of weapons.”
And when Rickea’s not mentally trapped in Indianapolis and actually getting busy?
It unlocks the rest of the machine. LA knocked down 13 threes and got timely shooting from Kelsey Plum (11 points, 3 threes) and Azurá Stevens (15 points). But it all starts with the consistent one, Dearica Hamby.
“Just being steady,” Hamby said. “I just try and show up any way I can… everybody’s buying into the system right now.”
Hamby looked like a human cheat code, pulling down six offensive rebounds and punishing every single missed boxout. Which Shakira Austin, to be fair, warned everyone about.
“We just have to box out,” said Kira. “It’s hard to box out when you have someone running to the rim without a body on them.”
The Locker Room Got Real—and Now the Wins Are Too
Let’s be clear: LA used to fold in games like this.
The Mystics came out swinging with an 18–3 start, and the Sparks could’ve packed it up and started texting about brunch. Instead, they punched back, outscored Washington 26–19 in the fourth, and iced it with a dagger baseline jumper from Hamby and a long-range nuke from Plum.
“First quarter we came to the huddle and we knew we were playing like shit,” said Hamby. “Once we started seeing the ball go in, we knew we got better… we’re learning how to win.”
The turnaround? It started with some real-talk moments off the court.
“We’ve had a lot of hard conversations in this locker room and we’re seeing it pay off,” Syd added. “We want to win… it’s about being better and we’re doing that.”
Lynne Roberts echoed the same energy, saying the Sparks don’t run a traditional system and it’s taken time to click—but it’s happening now.
“It’s tying together,” Roberts said. “There’s a sense of where these guys are starting to play to win and not just play and hope we win… That’s a different mentality.”
Oh, and about Rickea playing defense? She didn’t just light up the scoreboard—she locked up Slim and Sonia too.
“She did a tremendous job defensively,” Roberts said. “That was huge.”
The Sparks aren’t just surviving anymore.
They’re hooping with intent. The Sparks have confidence chemistry, and more than enough chaos to keep the momentum spicy.
Rickea’s out of Indiana. Hamby’s not slowing down and Lynne Roberts has unlocked the ultimate coaching hack, do less.
Washington came in with brunch plans. LA came in with body bags.
And if this is what “trending in the right direction” looks like?
Then buckle up—because the Sparks are coming fast, loud, and fully loaded.
