After six straight losses, the Los Angeles Sparks finally had reason to celebrate, securing a 77-68 win over the Connecticut Sun. However, what should have been a much-needed night of celebration quickly took an unexpected turn, with Dearica Hamby at the center of an incident that soon became one of the game’s biggest talking points.

The sequence, reposted on X by Underdog WNBA, occurred with 8:39 left in the fourth quarter. Hamby was boxing out Sun forward Raegan Beers, who was physically contesting for the rebound. In retaliation, Hamby swung her right arm backward, hitting Beers hard in the jaw and sending her to the floor.

Though no foul was called initially, officials eventually reviewed the play. Beers was assessed a loose-ball foul, while Hamby was ejected after being handed a Flagrant 2. The Sun later announced that Beers would not return for the remainder of the game due to the jaw injury she suffered. She finished the night with eight points and seven rebounds.

This was Hamby’s first Flagrant foul of the season, adding another unwanted chapter to a season in which she has already racked up 107 personal fouls across 36 games, according to ESPN.

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The Flagrant 2 also earned her two flagrant points and a $1,000 fine. She will now be two points away from a one-game suspension without pay, while another Flagrant 2 could result in a two-game suspension.

Interestingly, after the game, in response to an X user telling her to be a better example for her daughter, Hamby defended her actions, saying, “If somebody intentionally punch my kid in her ribs/stomach I hope she does more than that!!!!!!”

When the user pushed back that Beers did not punch her, Hamby doubled down and encouraged the fan to find another angle of the altercation.

And as the LA Sparks star pointed out, another angle of the replay does show Beers making subtle contact with Hamby’s midsection. While it remains unclear whether Beers intended to hurt her or was simply being physical while battling for the rebound, the former Aces forward clearly felt the contact.

The LA Sparks forward could be seen wincing in pain and clutching her stomach before swinging her arm backward and catching Beers in the face.

Hamby, who is averaging 14.8 points, 7.1 rebounds, and 1.5 steals on 55.3% shooting this season, finished the night with 10 points, five rebounds, and two assists. She was one of four Sparks players to score in double figures. However, she wasn’t the only one who stepped up in the Sparks’ victory over the Sun.

Sparks Rally Behind Burrell to End Six-Game Skid

After their loss to the Atlanta Dream, it was finally made official that the Sparks were out of the playoff race. But that didn’t change the importance of this win. Having lost six in a row, the 11th-placed team finally got back in the win column, registering their 13th victory of the season.

The Sparks were in complete control for most of the game, building a 22-point lead in the fourth quarter. But Hamby’s ejection changed the momentum, with Connecticut mounting a late comeback and cutting the deficit to single digits in the final minutes.

That charge was led by Saniya Rivers off the bench, who finished with 14 points and four steals while helping fuel the Sun’s 13-0 run to close out the game. The Sparks went scoreless over the final six minutes, but their defense stood tall when it mattered most.

After conceding 124 points to the Atlanta Dream in their previous game, the Sparks held the Sun to just 68 points, 11 below their season average, while restricting them to 35% shooting from the field. That defensive effort was backed by contributions across the roster, with several Sparks stepping up when it mattered most.

Nneka Ogwumike recorded an 11-point, 11-rebound double-double, while Erica Wheeler also chipped in 11 points and five assists. But the star of the show was Rae Burrell, who led all scorers with 20 points on 8-for-13 shooting while making her presence felt on the defensive end with three steals and three blocks.

Burrell’s highlight-reel moment came when Connecticut were making their final push in the fourth quarter. She came up with two crucial blocks in the closing minutes, helping ensure the Sun’s comeback attempt ultimately fell short.

The writing may be on the wall for the Sparks this season, but what comes next could be far more promising.

A Brighter Future Could Be Ahead for LA

The decision to move on from Kelsey Plum was certainly not an easy one, but it was a necessary move given that the superstar was not looking to re-sign with the franchise. That left the Sparks at risk of losing their leading scorer without getting anything in return.

In doing so, they landed two draft picks, one of which is now likely to be a lottery pick with the Mercury officially out of the playoff race, along with a promising young player in Monique Akoa Makani.

It’s clear that the Sparks are looking to build around their young core moving forward, especially with plans for a new $150 million training facility scheduled to open in 2027.

With the Sparks likely to enter the upcoming draft with two lottery picks, they could be in a strong position to land JuJu Watkins. If LA can climb up the board and secure the highly touted prospect, it could give the franchise a generational talent capable of changing the trajectory of the team, something they desperately need after missing the playoffs since 2020.

The prospect of Watkins playing alongside Cameron Brink is enough to get everyone in LA excited about what the future could hold.

Yes, Brink might not have had the best of games against the Sun, finishing with just seven points while turning the ball over four times and fouling out in only 12 minutes. But one difficult game does little to change the bigger picture, with Brink and Burrell clearly emerging as two important pieces of the Sparks’ plans for the future.

Another player who is also likely to be part of the Sparks’ plans for the future is Hamby, who is currently in the first year of her three-year, $3.4 million contract with the franchise. She could provide the veteran presence on the team, helping guide the younger players as LA look to build for the future.

But if incidents like the one involving Beers become a recurring issue, Hamby’s place in LA’s long-term plans could eventually come into question.