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The Indiana Fever defeated Cameron Brink and the Los Angeles Sparks 76-75 at home on Friday, despite missing Caitlin Clark, as Odyssey Sims made an impact in her return to L.A., scoring 21 points.
The Fever, playing without Clark—who has appeared in just 13 games this season due to injury—were led by Sims, who added six rebounds and three assists to her 21 points. Aliyah Boston led the way with 22 points and 11 rebounds.Â
In Sims’ return to L.A. after being waived by the Sparks on July 2, the Fever improved to 21-18, holding firm in sixth place.
Brink finished with four points, five rebounds and two blocks, while Kelsey Plum added 12 points, three] rebounds, and three assists. The Sparks fell to 17-20 and remain in the No. 9 spot in the WNBA standings, just one game out of the postseason, but extended their losing streak to two games.
The Sparks jumped out to a 7-0 start thanks to solid ball movement, crisp passing and a couple of turnovers by Indiana. Rickea Jackson scored five points in the first quarter, while Dearica Hamby added six, and Los Angeles led 31-24 after 10 minutes of action.
Boston quickly reached 10 points early in the second quarter as the Fever began to chip away at the lead, cutting it to three. With the Sparks up by one, Plum halted Indiana’s momentum with a stunning reverse layup. Plum finished the half with 12 points, helping to rally her team as they tried to pull away. However, the Fever continued to close the gap and trailed by just three heading into the break.
Out of halftime, Boston stayed unstoppable, adding four more points and a block on Hamby. The Fever grabbed a 50-49 lead after a reverse layup by Lexie Hull. The Sparks struggled to get any offense going in the third, scoring just 11 points.
The Sparks entered the final quarter leading 58-57, but that lead was short-lived when Lexie Hull nailed a three-pointer just over a minute into the period. Brink quickly responded with a powerful layup to tie the game and added a monster block on Kelsey Mitchell.
Julie Allemand then put the Sparks up by four with a layup, but with just over a minute remaining, Sims answered with a three-pointer to tie it at 74 with 50 seconds left. After Azura Stevens missed a free throw, leaving the Sparks up by just one, Sims charged down the floor again, sinking a floater to give the Fever the lead. A costly turnover by Plum on the baseline, combined with clutch defense from the Fever, sealed the win for Indiana.
The Sparks will host the No. 10 seed Washington Mystics on Sunday, while the Fever will face the No. 8 Golden State Valkyries in San Francisco on Saturday, as both teams continue their fight for a playoff spot.
