TORRANCE — Sparks guard Layshia Clarendon is ready to compete in upcoming back-to-back games against the defending WNBA champions.
Clarendon, a 10-year WNBA veteran who grew up in San Bernardino County and was drafted out of the University of California, Berkeley in 2013, is cherishing the opportunity to play for their hometown team against the Las Vegas Aces, who feature A’ja Wilson, Kelsey Plum and former Sparks great Candace Parker.
“We fear nobody,” Clarendon said. “They’re good, you have respect for people, A’ja, Kelsey, they just have a phenomenal roster across the board of All-Stars and MVPs. But one, it’s fear nobody, and two, it’s you take the fight to them. Bite them on the ankles. That’s how I play. You have to play with aggression and a level of not backing down against people and then respect your opponent but never back down.”
The Sparks will host Parker and the Aces at 7 p.m. Thursday at Crypto.com Arena in the teams’ second game of the season. The Sparks will then travel to Las Vegas for a rematch at 6 p.m. Saturday.
The Sparks are coming off a convincing 94-71 blowout win at home against the Phoenix Mercury in Friday’s season opener, which was Mercury star Brittney Griner’s first regular-season game since being detained in a Russian prison and missing all of last season. Five Sparks scored in double figures: Nneka Ogwumike (17), Chiney Ogwumike (15), Lexie Brown (14), Zia Cooke (14) and Karlie Samuelson (13).
Former Aces forward Dearica Hamby, a two-time All-Star, added nine points in her Sparks debut.
It will be Hamby’s first game against her former team after being traded to the Sparks in January amid her second pregnancy, with Hamby claiming “unethical” behavior by the Aces. A league investigation resulted in a two-game suspension for Las Vegas coach Becky Hammon and the loss of a 2025 first-round draft pick.
Hamby told reporters last week that her motivation to play well this season is for her two…
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