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Rickea Jackson’s short jumper with 58 seconds remaining put the Los Angeles Sparks on top for good in their 89-87 win over the Indiana Fever on Saturday night.
Jackson scored nine of the Sparks’ final 10 points and finished with 15 in the game. Azurá Stevens led Los Angeles with 21 points, providing the final margin of victory on a free throw with 3.2 seconds remaining. She also grabbed 12 rebounds. Kelsey Plum added 20 points and improved her personal record against Indiana to 21-1, the highest winning percentage for a player in at least 20 games against a single team.
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The Fever played their fifth consecutive game without Caitlin Clark, who continues to be sidelined with a left groin injury. Clark has missed 10 games overall this season, twice sitting out for five straight games.
Indiana held an 60-52 lead with four minutes to go in the third quarter, but the Sparks ended the frame with an 18-9 run that gave them a 70-69 lead going into the final 10 minutes. Plum and Dearica Hamby (who finished with 18) each scored five points during that surge.
Kelsey Mitchell continued her stellar play in Clark’s absence, scoring 19 points for Indiana. She’s averaged 21.6 points during the past five games. Natasha Howard added 21 points on 8-for-11 shooting from the floor, while grabbing nine boards.
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Aliyah Boston dominated inside throughout the game, leading the Fever with 23 points and 12 rebounds. However, she missed a jumper with 0.1 seconds left that would have tied the score. Indiana missed its final five shots of the game.
With the defeat, Indiana dropped to 9-9, putting them seventh in the WNBA standings. The Fever has gone 3-2 without Clark during her latest five-game absence. Up next for them is hosting the Golden State Valkyries (9-8) on Wednesday. The Sparks improved to 6-13, but sit in 10th place. They will face the league-leading Minnesota Lynx (16-2) at home on Thursday.
