Sparks grab their best win of the season with an overtime victory against the Aces

Led by strong performances from Dearica Hamby and Aari McDonald, the Sparks snap their losing streak with an overtime win against the Aces.

The Sparks end their eight-game losing streak with a hard-fought, 98-93 win, over the Las Vegas Aces Friday night.

They held a ten-point advantage in the final quarter and the Aces forced overtime, but Los Angeles was able to hang on and beat the defending champs.

Dearica Hamby scored 28 points with 14 rebounds and four assists. Jackson scored 14 points with six rebounds and three assists.

Aari McDonald provided great scoring from behind the arc going four for eight and ending the game with a career-high 23 points, five rebounds, three steals, two assists and a block. Stephanie Talbot had an excellent second half and ended with 13 points, five rebounds and nine assists.

Li Yueru and Rae Burrell were big off the bench, providing the offensive spark. Yueru ended with five points and four rebounds, and Burrell pitched in with nine points, two assists, a rebound and a block.

Like their last matchup, the Aces got going immediately, starting the game with seven unanswered points. And just like that game, this rematch had the Sparks responding with a 7-0 run of their own. Both teams started exchanging baskets and the lead, with both offenses firing on all cylinders.

L.A. matched and, at times, even went above the intensity of the Aces. It was a hard-fought battle throughout the opening frame, but Kelsey Plum knocked down a three late and the Aces went up by three entering the second quarter.

Layshia Clarendon opened up the offense to start the second quarter for the Sparks. LA’s bench showed up big with Yueru and Burrell carrying the heavy load.

The game remained relatively even until the Sparks went on an 18-5 run. This was arguably Los Angeles' best half of play this season with Nurse and Hamby in double figures at the half and the team staying incredibly composed with just one turnover.

Los Angeles entered halftime up by 10.

L.A kept that momentum going to start the third quarter. The Sparks were relentless, fighting for rebounds, diving for loose balls, and feeding off of the local Friday night crowd.

Against the defending champs, however, it’s never an easy game. The Sparks were starting to feel it as the Aces were creeping up slowly to cut the deficit to single digits with 5:31 left in the third.

The Sparks responded with a 5-0 run to regain their double-digit edge. McDonald’s incredible third quarter ended with a layup and the Sparks entered the fourth up70-60.

To start the final frame, Las Vegas cut the deficit to six and the Sparks would have to play an even cleaner rest of the game to stop the defending champs from going on a run to steal the win.

The Aces suddenly took all the energy away from the Sparks and went up by one with Jackie Young heating up and knocking down two 3-pointers. In an all too familiar spot, Los Angeles once again found themselves in a nervous time without the lead.

The fourth quarter quickly turned into a playoff-like atmosphere and after a hard-fought basket by Hamby over her former teammate A’ja Wilson, the game was tied with 2:01 left.

With the Aces up one and 37 seconds left, a foul by Wilson on Hamby sends her to the line where she knocked down a free throw to tie the game. Wilson then threw up a layup for the Aces to go up two, but the Sparks answered back with a two to tie it again and after a Kelsey Plum miss, the game headed into overtime.

Overtime begins with more of what we’ve seen all night: both teams exchanging baskets, and with 1:25 left in overtime, the score is even at 90.

A layup by Clarendon put the Sparks back up by two with 46.5 seconds left. The Aces missed their chance at tying and on the other end an assist by Talbot to Hamby for a layup, in which she was also fouled and made the free throw, put LA up by five with 24.1 seconds left.

A 3-pointer by Jackie Young had the Aces down by one and the Sparks entering nervous time. Hamby was fouled with 11.5 left in the game, missing both free throws, but Jackson grabbed the offensive rebound for LA to keep possession.

McDonald was immediately fouled and knocked down both of her free throws to make it a two-possession game. With 3 seconds left, a rebound by Clarendon and a free throw sealed the win for Los Angeles.

Key Takeaways:

The Sparks finally played a game with single-digit turnovers and it ended up being one of their best games of the season.

Aari McDonald has become one of the team's most reliable scorers. She gets better each game and provides the energy the team thrives off of.

Hopefully, this win will help the team feel more confident so they can go on a nice win streak.

They’ll try to add another win on Sunday against the Phoenix Mercury at 4:00 PM PT.

You can follow Karin on Twitter at @KarinAbcarians.