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Cameron Brink and the Los Angeles Sparks kept their playoff hopes alive with a stunning comeback victory Monday night over the Seattle Storm.
After trailing for almost the entirety of Monday’s game, Dearica Hamby and Rickea Jackson led the Sparks on an 11-0 run over the last two and a half minutes of a 91-85 victory that will have major implications for the WNBA playoff race.
Hamby led the Sparks in the win with 27 points and 11 rebounds, while Jackson racked up 23 points. Brink meanwhile contributed off the bench with nine points, five rebounds and a block.
Nneka Ogwumike and Skylar Diggins meanwhile each posted 21 points for the Storm, but were unable to stop their team from suffering a lost that will threaten its shot at the postseason.
The New York Liberty may have been resting on Monday night, but they are one team impacted by the Storm’s loss. A Sparks loss would have clinched a playoff spot for the defending WNBA champs.
The Storm, which had the chance to leapfrog the Golden State Valkyries for the No. 6 spot in the WNBA standings with a win, will now fall to No. 8 behind the Indiana Fever.
The Sparks, which went into Monday two games back of a playoff spot, will meanwhile climb up to just 1.5 games back of the Storm for the last postseason ticket in the league.
Here’s a look at the current WNBA standings after the Sparks’ comeback victory.
1. Minnesota Lynx, 32-8 (clinched playoff spot)
2. Las Vegas Aces, 26-14 (clinched playoff spot)
3. Atlanta Dream, 26-14 (clinched playoff spot)
4. Phoenix Mercury, 25-14 (clinched playoff spot)
5. New York Liberty, 24-16
6. Golden State Valkyries, 21-18
9. Los Angeles Sparks, 19-20
10. Washington Mystics, 16-25 (eliminated)
11. Connecticut Sun, 10-30 (eliminated)
12. Chicago Sky, 9-30 (eliminated)
13. Dallas Wings, 9-32 (eliminated)
The Sparks have just five games remaining in the season after Tuesday night’s victory, starting with a back-to-back set of away games against the Atlanta Dream, following by a home game against the Dallas Wings, a visit to the Phoenix Mercury and a season finale against the Los Angeles Aces.
Four games against top-four teams make this a challenging final stretch for the Sparks. Los Angeles will need big performances from starters like Hamby and Jackson down the stretch in order to beat out the Storm or the Fever for one of the final available playoff spots.
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