The Los Angeles Sparks fell short on the road against the Lynx on Saturday night, 82-66, despite leading as late as the 7:43 mark in the fourth quarter. The competitive game featured 10 lead changes and three ties.

Azurá Stevens recorded her 1,000th career rebound and finished with 11 points (4-for-9 FG, 2-for-4 3PT), nine rebounds and two blocks. With the blocks, she moved into sole possession of ninth on the Sparks' all-time blocks list and is now six shy of Tina Thompson for eighth.

Dearica Hamby surpassed the 3,500-point mark in her WNBA career, totaling 13 points (5-for-9 FG, 3-for-3 FT), six rebounds, four steals and two assists. The three-time All-Star now shares the league lead this season in 4+ steal games (three) with teammate guard Kelsey Plum and Gabby Williams of the Storm. 

Plum contributed a team-high 15 points and added four assists. She made both her free-throw attempts in the game and is now shooting 89.3% from the line this season, which ranks seventh in the WNBA.

Guard Shey Peddy, making her second start in three games with Los Angeles, matched her season high with six points and set a season mark with two steals. Meanwhile, forward Liatu King posted a team-best +11 in nine minutes of action.

On Saturday, the Sparks outscored the Lynx 32-24 in the paint.

QUOTES OF THE NIGHT: 

Head Coach Lynne Roberts
On Saturday’s game:
“I thought we played 34 really good minutes. We had nine more shot attempts than them, we forced 20 turnovers—just didn't convert. I think we've got to shoot better, I thought we got pretty good looks. They're a good team; they made shots and we didn't down the stretch, but I am proud of the effort and the game plan, and their buy-in to trying to get this win.”

Kelsey Plum
On how to move forward following a loss:
“You can't harp on anything too long. We play Chicago on their home court in a couple days, so you have to reset. I'm a competitor, and it’s frustrating because we're right there and I want it bad, you know? I want it really bad. I have faith that we will get there, and I thought we made some really big steps tonight. We got blown out by 30 (last Saturday in Minnesota). Granted, [Napheesa Collier] didn’t play, but the energy and the effort was there (this time). We just gotta execute down the stretch, but building is hard. It's not for the faint of heart, so we will regroup and be ready to go [on] Tuesday.”