The undermanned Sparks fell to the Minnesota Lynx, 99-83, on Wednesday night. LA ended their Commissioner’s Cup run with a record of 3-4.
Scoring was a massive challenge for Los Angeles, as they had to play without Kelsey Plum and Cameron Brink, who were out with injuries. The bench ended with 27 points. The team shot 41% from the field and 26% from behind the arc.
LA got off to a strong offensive start, building a quick lead. Rae Burrell was red hot with five points. Minnesota’s Kayla McBride had
five points as well. The Sparks made sure to get Dearica Hamby going early, leading to four points.
At the 4:35 mark, the Lynx were up by two.
Minnesota’s rookie sensation Olivia Miles started cooking, scoring seven points. Burrell was the first Spark in double figures with 10 points. Hamby was close behind with seven. LA was shooting 42% from the field, while the Lynx were shooting 52%.
At the end of the first, the purple and gold were down by four.
Nia Coffey started the second period by converting on a layup for Minnesota. Nneka Ogwumike responded on the other end with a layup of her own. The Lynx were on a big 14-2 run since the end of the first quarter.
Jihyun Park stopped some of the bleeding for Los Angeles with a layup.
Miles was now up to 13 points. The lead was up to 11 for Minnesota, forcing a timeout by the Sparks. Out of the break, LA turned the ball over. Miles nailed her second triple of the half on the other end.
After Chance Gray drained a much-needed 3-pointer for Los Angeles, the Lynx scored five in a row, making things go from bad to even worse for the Sparks. They were now down by 16.
LA had erased a once 17-point Minnesota lead to 12, but was still down by 15 at halftime.
McBride splashed a triple to start the third period for the Lynx. Nneka converted on a layup on the other end for Los Angeles. Ariel Atkins put four points on the board for the Sparks. At the 3:57 mark, LA was down by 11, thanks in part to a 10-1 scoring run.
Miles put a stop to the run, converting on a 3-point play.
Los Angeles had 15 turnovers in three quarters. McBride added to her strong night, scoring 14 points. She helped keep the Lynx up big. Park now had eight off the bench for LA.
At the end of the third, the purple and gold were down by 15.
Maya Caldwell converted on a layup for Minnesota to start the final frame. On the other end, Los Angeles couldn’t score. Courtney Williams added a midrange jumper, helping expand the lead for the Lynx.
Williams scored another four points. Park continued her impressive showing off the bench for the Sparks, draining a 3-pointer. Miles pushed her point total to an insane 31 points.
With 5:03 left, it was a 22-point deficit for Los Angeles.
The rest of the quarter was garbage-time cardio, and the Sparks were never able to get the deficit down to single digits.
Key Player Stats
Burrell finished with 19 points and three assists. Hamby ended with 12 points, nine rebounds, two assists and three steals. Nneka had 10 points with eight rebounds.
Erica Wheeler pitched in with six points and four assists. Park had her best game as Spark, scoring 13 points off the bench. Atkins logged four points with three assists and two steals. Ta’Niya Latson and Chance Gray combined for 14 points.
The Sparks’ next game will be against the New York Liberty on Sunday at 5:00 PM PT.
You can follow Karin on Twitter at @KarinAbcarians.
