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    Sparks to host Liberty while looking to snap 5-game skid
    • July 27, 2026

    TORRANCE — The Sparks are more than ready for a second-half surge.

    The team is mired in a five-game losing streak going into Tuesday night’s game against the New York Liberty at Crypto.com Arena.

    “Gotta get wins,” Sparks guard Ariel Atkins said. “That’s the only thing on my mind right now.”

    “Wins,” Sparks forward Dearica Hamby added. “We can’t keep talking about it. We have to be about it.”

    The Sparks are 10-16 overall, including 3-11 without All-Star guard Kelsey Plum, whose status for Tuesday’s game is unknown after she sat out the past 10 games over five weeks with a lower leg injury.

    “She’s getting close,” Sparks coach Lynne Roberts said. “I don’t know.”

    Plum, who is averaging 23.9 points and 6.4 assists in 12 games, did not formally practice on Monday but she did have an individual on-court workout afterward.

    “She’s a playmaker,” Hamby explained, aware the Sparks are 7-1 this season when Plum has at least seven assists. “She can score the ball at will and at ease. She helps this team play with pace. So for sure going to enjoy having her back.”

    Atkins is averaging a career-low 9.2 points while shooting 36.7% from the field and 27.5% from 3-point range. The 2019 WNBA champion and two-time All-Star has continued to hold herself personally accountable.

    “Being more aggressive,” Atkins said of trying to fill some of the void in Plum’s absence. “Being more patient, I think on both ends of the floor. Obviously, stay out of foul trouble, hit more shots, but I think just be more decisive on the other end, which is part of me being aggressive.”

    New York (15-12) is led by All-Stars and former WNBA MVPs Breanna Stewart (averaging 21.1 points and 8.6 rebounds per game) and Jonquel Jones (14.8 points, 9.2 rebounds). The Liberty have won two straight since a stretch that saw them lose six of seven games. Leonie Fiebich (foot), Marine Johannes (ankle) and Satou Sabally (concussion) have all been sidelined recently with injuries.

    The Sparks won their only previous game against the Liberty this season, beating them 98-97 on Nneka Ogwumike’s buzzer-beating 3-pointer on June 21, which was Plum’s last game before her leg injury. Ogwumike is averaging 17.1 points and 9.1 rebounds. The 15-year veteran played in the All-Star Game on Saturday in Chicago but did not practice on Monday due to an illness, according to Roberts.

    “They’re not fully healthy, we’re not fully healthy this time, but we’ve shown that we can play,” said Hamby, who is averaging 14.8 ppg and 7.5 rpg. “We’ve seen the last five games. Even though we haven’t come out with wins, we’ve trended in the right direction. Obviously, a different team, but last year we went on a roll the second half, so hopefully, we can replicate that.”

    Atkins said the All-Star break was restorative and an opportunity for players to reset themselves for the next stretch.

    “I’ve been able to take a step back and tell myself, my job is to do my job,” Atkins explained. “And that’s all we all can do, is do our job to the best of our ability. If we stop trying to overcorrect things, I think it will work out for us in the end.”

    JERSEY RETIREMENT

    Sparks legend Delisha Milton-Jones will have her No. 8 jersey retired during a halftime ceremony on Tuesday night.

    Milton-Jones, who is currently the head women’s basketball coach at Old Dominion, will be the fourth former Spark to receive the honor. She helped the Sparks win back-to-back WNBA championships alongside Lisa Leslie in 2001 and 2002. She played 11 of her 17 WNBA seasons with the Sparks and is fourth on the franchise’s all-time lists in points, field goals, rebounds, steals and minutes played.

    LIBERTY (15-12) AT SPARKS (10-16)

    When: Tuesday, 7 p.m.

    Where: Crypto.com Arena

    TV: Spectrum SportsNet

    ​ Orange County Register 

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