The Sparks picked up a crucial 97-96 road win over the Wings Friday, leading by as many as 16 points and never trailing.

Kelsey Plum set a Sparks record with her 20th 20+ point performance of the season, a milestone that pushed her past the 4,000-point mark in her WNBA career. The eighth-year guard finished with a game-high 28 points on 9-for-17 shooting, including 3-for-5 from three-point range. The lefty also added five assists and two steals. 

Dearica Hamby posted 20 points, 10 rebounds and a team-best +13 rating to move into sole possession of 28th on the WNBA's all-time double-doubles list with her 52nd. The 11th-year veteran climbed into 25th place on the league's career rebounding list with her fourth rebound of the contest. With one steal, she tied for 10th in Sparks franchise history. Hamby also became the fourth player in WNBA history to record multiple seasons of 500+ points, 250+ rebounds and 100+ assists, joining Candace Parker (six), Tamika Catchings (four) and Breanna Stewart (three).

Azurá Stevens added 15 points, seven rebounds and two blocks, tying Alana Beard for seventh in franchise history in blocks. Julie Allemand recorded her second career double-double with 12 points and a game-high 10 assists, along with a career-high four steals in a game-high 36 minutes. 

Cameron Brink grabbed a season-high seven rebounds in just 12 minutes, adding three blocks and one steal. The second-year forward is now tied with Lisa Leslie and Breanna Stewart as the third-fastest player in league history to reach 50 career blocks and 20 career steals, accomplishing the feat in 23 contests. Only Candace Parker (20 games) and Elena Baranova (22 games) have done it in fewer performances.

Rickea Jackson poured in 15 points and matched her career-high four offensive boards, while Rae Burrell tied her season high in steals with two.

The Sparks matched their season high with 15 offensive rebounds and shot 44.0% from both the field and beyond the arc. L.A. also outscored Dallas 15-5 in second-chance points and 17-9 on the fast break.

QUOTES OF THE NIGHT:

Head Coach Lynne Roberts

On what the Sparks did well tonight against the Dallas Wings:

“I thought Dallas played well. You have to give them credit. We had a couple runs, a couple double-digit leads. They showed some toughness and executed well, so give them credit. They prepared, they ran good stuff. Our ball movement in that fourth quarter… the ball got a little sticky, meaning it wasn't hitting sidelines, not everyone was touching it, we gotta get better. Julie Allemand, it's impossible to take her off the floor. She got a couple really key steals. Ten assists, four steals — to have a steadying force like that at your point guard spot is so valuable. [Dallas] shot it really well. They cooled off a little bit in the second half from three, which was great. But yeah, it was just a hard-fought game, a game of runs. I thought in that fourth quarter down the stretch, we kind of played not to lose instead of playing to win by 15. We didn't have the killer mentality, so that's something I know we need to [fix].”

Azurá Stevens:

On what it took to close out this win: 

“I think just mental toughness, you know? They had an incredible run in the fourth, and it's not easy to withstand that and still come out and pull out the win. [It came] literally all the way down to the last second… [but] we were all connected on the court. We've got to clean up defensively, but I think it's a good team win for us.”

Julie Allemand

On Coach Roberts’ expectations of her:

“I know that she wants me to do what I can do [and] just be myself on the court, organized, but also be aggressive, and I think today I was a little bit more aggressive. We have [11] more games. It's almost the end, but it's still a lot of games, so, game after game, we're gonna try to get as many wins as possible. I’m just gonna keep believing in myself, because I know that my team believes in me.”