Led by Sydney Wiese and Riquna Williams, the Los Angeles Sparks secured their first back-to-back win of the season, routing the New York Liberty 93-78 Tuesday night in Bradenton Fl.

The Sparks commanded an early presence with two consecutive season-highs; 28 points in the first quarter and 51 points in the first half. With Tierra Ruffin-Pratt out due to an ankle injury, Brittney Sykes saw her first start of the 2020 season, amassing 15 points and four rebounds.

“Whether it’s starting or coming off the bench, I want to make sure that whenever somebody sees me in the game, they know that the defensive energy is going to turn up a lot more,” Sykes said.

Five of the Sparks players scored in double-digits; Wiese and Williams led the offense with 17 points each, followed closely by Candace Parker with 16 and Nneka Ogwumike with 11. Parker now ranks 14th in all-time assists in WNBA history, dishing out 1,260 in her career.

Before the game, Fisher emphasized the importance of high energy and effort being the recipe for success.

“You don’t tie franchise records every night; you can’t rely on shot making alone,” said head coach Derek Fisher. “When you see our players playing with high levels of energy and effort– they’re flying around the court, they’re getting up and down the court with a level of pace and pop that should jump off the screen– then I think we’ll have a chance to win almost every game.”

But the Sparks did in fact set another franchise record, shooting 11-for-17 on 3-pointers (64.7%), the best in a regular season game in franchise history (minimum 15 attempts), continuing the offensive onslaught from Sunday against the Lynx, when the team shot 65.5% from the field, the highest field goal percentage in Sparks franchise history and third-best in WNBA regular season history. Wiese hit five 3-pointers individually and Williams added three triples of her own.

New York responded to the Sparks impressive first half, scoring 28 points in the third quarter. The Liberty were able to capitalize on fouls, shooting 22-for-23 on free throws. Jazmine Jones led New York’s offense with a career-high 24 points in 26 minutes, scoring 14 in the first half.

Other than Jones, the Sparks were able to clamp down and limit the Liberty roster from offensive production, forcing 27 Liberty turnovers, a season-high for the Sparks.

“Brittney Sykes energy and intensity tonight was really a catalyst to why we were able to do so well defensively,” Fisher said. “We need that from her and from everybody in order to be the defensive team we are capable of being.”

The Sparks will play the Washington Mystics Thursday at 4 p.m. PT on ESPN. The Mystics are 3-5 in the season and coming off of a 20-point loss against the Minnesota Lynx.