The shorthanded Sparks extended their losing streak to six with an 85-76 loss to the Connecticut Sun on Tuesday afternoon.
Los Angeles was down Cameron Brink, Erica Wheeler and Monique Akoa Makani, which meant players who hadn’t played in consecutive games saw unexpected playing time.
Unfortunately, their bench ended with just eight points. The team was 2-16 from behind the arc.
The game began with both teams exchanging layups. Rae Burrell had the first four points for LA.
Diamond Miller and Leila Lacan
combined for a quick five points for Connecticut. Dearica Hamby started heating up for Los Angeles, scoring four points.
The Sparks were shooting 55% from the field.
At the 4:40 mark, the purple and gold were down by five.
Raegan Beers had a strong showing off the bench for the Sun, scoring four points. Olivia Nelson-Ododa led Connecticut with eight points. LA ended the quarter shooting 47% from the field, including being 0-3 from behind the arc.
Los Angeles was down by seven at the end of the first.
Tonie Morgan had four early points for the Sparks to start the second period. Saniya Rivers was playing well for Connecticut, pushing her point total to six. LA was still cold from behind the arc, missing all six of their attempts. They were shooting 44% from the field, though.
At the 5:14 mark, Los Angeles trailed by seven.
Nelson-Ododa was leading the way for both sides with 13 points. Burrell was the only Spark in double figures with 11 points. Nneka Ogwumike and Hamby had a combined 17 for LA.
At halftime, the Sparks were down by six.
Nelson-Ododa opened the third period by converting on a three-point play. It jump-started a 9-0 run for the Sun and forced LA to call a timeout. Out of the break, Hamby missed a layup attempt and Nelson-Ododa scored again, giving her 18 points.
Los Angeles responded with a 5-0 scoring run, bringing the deficit down to 11. Kennedy Burke put a stop to the momentum the Sparks had built by scoring four in a row.
Nneka had six points in the quarter, trying to keep LA in it. Things took a turn for the worse for Los Angeles as the lead continued to balloon for the Sun.
At the end of the third, the Sparks were down by 17. Connecticut won the quarter 26 to 15.
The final frame saw LA cut a 21-point Sun lead to 11, but never really threaten to make it a game again.
Key Player Stats:
Burrell finished with 19 points, six assists and two blocks. Nneka ended with 18 points and seven rebounds. Hamby logged 15 points with five rebounds and three assists.
In her first start, Morgan pitched in with eight points and three steals. Atkins had nine points with two rebounds, two assists and two steals.
The Sparks’ next game is against the Atlanta Dream on Thursday at 7:00 PM PT.
You can follow Karin on Twitter at @KarinAbcarians.
