Last-place Sparks snap 7-game losing streak with 94-88 win over WNBA-leading Liberty

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Dearica Hamby scored 21 points, rookie Rickea Jackson added 19 and the last-place Los Angeles Sparks beat the WNBA-leading New York Liberty 94-88 on Wednesday night to snap a seven-game losing streak.

Rae Burrell made 7 of 8 from the field, 3 of 3 from 3-point range, and tied her season-high with 18 points for the Sparks (7-24). Odyssey Sims added 14 points and seven assists and Azurá Stevens scored 10.

New York (26-5) has lost two of its last three games following an eight-game winning streak and is just 2 1/2 games ahead of the Minnesota Lynx — who have won seven straight — for the best record in the league.

Jackson hit her fourth and final 3-pointer to give Los Angeles the lead for good at 65-63 in the closing seconds of the third quarter.

Burrell scored 11 points on 4 of 4 shooting in the fourth quarter to fend off the Liberty.

New York’s Breanna Stewart led all scorers with 32 points, including 15 in the fourth quarter, and Sabrina Ionescu added 18 points and six assists.

A free throw from Stewart cut the Sparks’ lead to 77-74 with 4:14 to play, but Los Angeles responded with a 10-0 run to go up 13, 87-74, with 1:41 remaining, and put the game away.

Los Angeles built an early lead thanks to a scoring spurt from Jackson, who scored 11 points — including three 3-pointers in less than two minutes — amid 15-0 run that made it 24-10 late in the first.

Jackson made 7 of 11 from the field and 4 of 6 from 3-point range. The No. 4 pick in the 2024 draft shot just 21% (15 of 71) from deep over her first 28 WNBA games. She has made 13 of 19 (68%) from behind the arc in her last three.

New York was able to tie the score on four separate occasions in the third, but never went ahead. The Liberty’s last lead came at the 4:17 mark of the first quarter when it was 10-9.

Ionescu, who went 7 of 21 from the field and 3 of 14 from behind the arc, has made a 3-pointer in 55 consecutive games, tying Diana Taurasi for the second-longest streak in WNBA history. Ivory Latta hit a 3 in 66 straight games for the Washington Mystics from June 21, 2013, through June 14, 2015.

Ionescu also moved past Vickie Johnson (787) into second on the Liberty’s all-time assist list with 792, behind five-time WNBA All-Star Teresa Weatherspoon (1,306).