California 3za Kitchen: Liberty Silence Sparks From Deep

With a ruthless schedule offering only a single day off after a four-game homestand completed within six days, the New York Liberty were in need of a jolt.

Fortunately for New York, it tipped off an instant pair with the Los Angeles Sparks on Sunday afternoon, earning a jolt with a 87-79 victory at Crypto.com Arena. New York got back in the win column after Friday's loss to Minnesota at home and opened a three-game road trip on the right note before the WNBA-leading Las Vegas Aces visit next Sunday.

The Liberty (19-6) needed a mere five seconds to get on the board thanks to Breanna Stewart's driving lay-up and more or less put Los Angeles away for good shortly after: Nneka Ogwumike tied the game on a turnaround shortly after Stewart's opener but the Liberty embarked upon a 19-0 run to built an impenetrable lead. Los Angeles (9-16) inched its way back into the game with 15 unanswered points of their own to shrink the Liberty lead to seven in the penultimate minute but the Liberty held their ground to seal the deal.

Stewart's instant opener commenced a 25-point day, her eighth consecutive showing of at least 20 against her former Western Conference rival. Jonquel Jones got back into double-double territory after falling a point short on Friday, earning her fifth in the last six games with 13 points and rebounds each.

Marine Johannes was the headliner in the first half, building a 16-point halftime lead by hitting each of her first five triples over the first 20 minutes. New York sank 15 triples on Sunday afternoon, becoming just the third team in WNBA history to hit that mark on at least three occasions (joining last year's team and last year's champions from Las Vegas).

Los Angeles futile, if not valiant, comeback effort was paced by 20 points off the bench from Dearica Hamby, who hit 8-of-12 from the field in defeat.

The Liberty and Sparks will wrap up a SoCal doubleheader on Tuesday night (10 p.m. ET, YES App/NBA TV).

Geoff Magliocchetti is on Twitter @GeoffJMags

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