Los Angeles Sparks at Phoenix Mercury
· Women's National Basketball AssociationHamby has 27 points, 15 boards to lead Sparks to 97-88 win over Mercury
The Sparks outscored the Mercury 35-19 in the second to take a 60-43 at the half, a franchise record for points at halftime. Los Angeles was 11 of 16 in the second quarter, including 5 of 7 on 3-pointers, and didn't miss from the foul line.
Kelsey Plum had 16 points and seven assists for the Sparks (2-3), who were playing their first road game. Nneka Ogwumike, and reserves Cameron Brink and Rae Burrell all scored 12 points and Ariel Atkins had 11.
Alyssa Thomas led the Mercury (2-4) with 23, with seven rebounds and seven assists. Kahleah Copper added 22 points, Jovana Nogic had 15 and Natasha Mack 10. Phoenix finished 1/3 on its homestand.
Both teams were coming off a home loss to the expansion Toronto Tempo.
Los Angeles was 5 of 17 in the fourth quarter but still shot 48% (31 of 64). The Sparks were 14 of 24 from the 3-point line through three quarters but went 0 for 8 to finish one made 3 shy of the franchise record.
Plum had 14 points at halftime and three teammates had 10, including Ogwumike, which moved her past Tamika Catchings into fifth on the league's career scoring list.
The Mercury got no closer than nine in the second half.
Honoring the 30th year of the WNBA the Mercury, one of the league's original teams along with the Sparks, wore uniforms matching their original ones and had the old logo at midcourt.
Lynx: Play at Chicago on Saturday.
Regular Season Series
LA leads series 1-0
Recent Plays
| 4th 0.0 |  |
End of Game | 97 - 88 |
| 4th 0.0 | |
End of the 4th Quarter | 97 - 88 |
| 4th 11.0 |  |
Alyssa Thomas bad pass turnover (Kelsey Plum steals) | 97 - 88 |
| 4th 12.4 | |
Natasha Mack defensive rebound | 97 - 88 |
| 4th 14.4 |  |
Nneka Ogwumike misses two point shot | 97 - 88 |
Statistics
 LA |
 PHX |
|
|---|---|---|
| 31-64 | FG | 29-69 |
| 48 | Field Goal % | 42 |
| 15-32 | 3PT | 8-25 |
| 47 | Three Point % | 32 |
| 20-22 | FT | 22-29 |
| 91 | Free Throw % | 76 |
| 31 | Rebounds | 33 |
| 7 | Offensive Rebounds | 11 |
| 24 | Defensive Rebounds | 22 |
| 23 | Assists | 17 |
| 8 | Steals | 9 |
| 4 | Blocks | 2 |
| 17 | Turnovers | 13 |
| 0 | Team Turnovers | 0 |
| 17 | Total Turnovers | 13 |
| 0 | Technical Fouls | 1 |
| 0 | Total Technical Fouls | 1 |
| 0 | Flagrant Fouls | 1 |
| 18 | Points Conceded Off Turnovers | 19 |
| 5 | Fast Break Points | 9 |
| 26 | Points in Paint | 40 |
| 25 | Fouls | 24 |
| 21 | Largest Lead | 2 |
| 11 | Lead Changes | 11 |
| 91 | Percent Led | 7 |
Game Information
Location: Phoenix, AZ
Attendance: 10,953 · Capacity:
2025-26 Western Conference Standings
| TEAM | W | L | PCT | GB | STRK |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Las Vegas |
- | 2 | L1 | 0.6666667 | 4 |
 Minnesota |
- | 2 | W2 | 0.6666667 | 4 |
 Golden State |
- | 2 | W1 | 0.6666667 | 4 |
 Dallas |
0.5 | 3 | W1 | 0.5714286 | 4 |
 Portland |
0.5 | 3 | W2 | 0.5714286 | 4 |
 Los Angeles |
1 | 3 | W2 | 0.5 | 3 |
 Seattle |
1.5 | 4 | W2 | 0.42857143 | 3 |
 Phoenix |
2.5 | 5 | L3 | 0.2857143 | 2 |
WNBA News
WNBA Power Rankings: Fever crack top 5, Dream take over No. 1
An action-packed third week of the season brought another significant shuffle to the standings.
Toronto heads to Chicago for conference showdown
Toronto Tempo (3-4, 0-1 Eastern Conference) at Chicago Sky (3-3)
Minnesota hosts Atlanta following Howard's 26-point showing
Atlanta Dream (4-1) at Minnesota Lynx (4-2, 2-0 Western Conference)
Seattle plays Washington following Hiedeman's 24-point game
Washington Mystics (2-3, 2-1 Eastern Conference) at Seattle Storm (3-4, 0-1 Western Conference)
Portland takes on Connecticut in non-conference matchup
Connecticut Sun (1-7, 0-1 Eastern Conference) at Portland Fire (4-3)