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Sparks forward Rickea Jackson stuns Liberty with buzzer-beating layup

Danby: Daniel Hager07/27/25DanielHagerOn3
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© John Jones-Imagn Images

Los Angeles Sparks forward Rickea Jackson stunned the New York Liberty Saturday night with a game-winning layup, giving the Sparks the 101-99 win over the WNBA’s second winningest team. Jackson led her team in scoring with 24 points on 9/15 shooting.

New York’s Sabrina Ionescu tied the game with 17-foot pull-up jumper with 23 seconds remaining, but it was not enough to propel her team to the win. Ionescu led all scorers with 30 points on 12/22 shooting.

Jackson has certainly made her mark on the league in a short time, as she was selected to the WNBA All-Rookie Team last season alongside Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese, Kamilla Cardoso and Leonie Fiebich. While at Tennessee, Jackson was named a First Team All-SEC selection in both 2023 and 2024, with a Second Team All-SEC selection in 2020.

Jackson actually started her college career at Mississippi State, where she played three seasons with the Bulldogs. She led them in scoring all three years, including as a freshman when she averaged 15.1 points, 5.1 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game.

Liberty lost Breanna Stewart to injury in first quarter

Jackson’s production dipped slightly to 14.9 points and 4.4 rebounds per game as a sophomore in 2020-21, before she bounced back with an incredible junior season, before entering the transfer portal.

During her final year at Mississippi State, Jackson led the SEC in scoring for the first time in her career, averaging 20.3 points and 6.8 rebounds. However, after 15 games that season, she decided to enter the portal and head off to Knoxville.

The loss hurts even more for the Liberty, who fell to 17-7 but more importantly lost star forward Breanna Stewart to a right leg injury in the first quarter. Stewart, who scored just three points in three minutes, did not return following the injury.

An extended absence for Stewart would be extremely detrimental, as the UConn product is one of the greatest players in league history. Over the course her career, she’s won three WNBA titles and two WNBA Finals MVP’s. She’s also been named a WNBA All-Star on seven different occasions and has been selected to the WNBA All-First Team six times (five consecutive selections from 2020-24).

Saturday night marked the Sparks’ fifth consecutive win, propelling them to a 11-14 record. Los Angeles’ team has missed the playoff in five consecutive season and hasn’t won the WNBA Finals since 2016.