Sparks fall to Sun despite big game from Rickea Jackson

There were flashes of hope, but in the end, not even a career night for Rickea Jackson was enough as the Sparks fell to the Connecticut Sun 79-67 for their fourth consecutive loss. The Sun, who hold the second-best record in the WNBA at 25-10, presented no shortage of challenges for the league-worst Sparks (7-28). Their length proved to be a nightmare defensively for the Sparks, who gave up 16 points off 17 turnovers.

They conceded 13 second-chance points to Connecticut while scoring only seven second-chance points of their own, despite being relatively equal in rebounds (29 for the Sun, 27 for the Sparks). Despite this, the Sparks held a lead for the majority of the game thanks to a huge effort from Jackson, who led both teams in scoring (23 points) and also made her presence felt on defense with a career-high four steals. The Sparks were 12 for 14 from the free-throw line in the first half, with eight of them coming from Dearica Hamby .



That momentum disappeared in the second half as the Sparks went four for six from the line the rest of the way. Marina Mabrey gave Connecticut the lead on a three-pointer with just under 6:30 to go in the fourth quarter, and the Sun would take control of the game from that point on as they went on a 13-3 run until the final buzzer. There was no dagger, there were no dramatics, it was just a complete and utter takeover until the Sparks ran out of life.

The Sparks will have a chance for redemption Tuesday, as these two teams run it back at Crypto.com Arena..