The Sparks’ three-game win streak was snapped with a rough 78-58 loss to the Golden State Valkyries on Monday night. They are now 3-2 in Commissioners Cup play.
Offense was Los Angeles’ Achilles’ heel as they shot a rough 33% from the field. They were 3-21 from behind the arc. None of their starters cracked double figures. The Sparks also never led in the game.
LA’s offense was ice cold from the jump on Monday. It led to Golden State scoring eight straight points. Kelsey Plum scored Los Angeles’ first
points on a triple and Ariel Atkins followed it with a jump shot. Plum scored again, giving her six points. Gabby Williams had six for the Valkyries.
At the 2:43 mark, Golden State was up by eight.
Unfortunately for the Sparks, their offense remained stagnant and the Valkyries built a lead of 15 at the end of the first. Los Angeles only had two points in the paint while Golden State had 10.
The Valkyries started the second period scoring four in a row. Cameron Brink provided a much-needed spark for LA by scoring four points as well, leading to Golden State calling a timeout.
Out of the break, Tiffany Hayes turned the ball over.
Brink continued her strong play, adding four more points to her total. Golden State was shooting 50% from the field while the Sparks were shooting 37%.
Rae Burrell began heating up for Los Angeles with four points. At the 3:07 mark, LA was down by single digits.
That didn’t last long, though, as Golden State went back up by double figures with a 10-0 run to close the half. Kaila Charles scoring five in a row helped Golden State go up by 19 at halftime.
Cecilia Zandalasini scored on a layup for the Valkyries to open the third period. Los Angeles could not get anything going offensively. Veronica Burton drained a triple, and on the other end, Nneka Ogwumike answered with a three, just the second 3-pointer of the night for the Sparks.
Dearica Hamby scored her first points of the game on a layup. LA still had no players in double figures with 4:22 left in the third quarter.
Kate Martin knocked down a much-needed 3-pointer for the Sparks. Hamby was now up to six points, helping slowly shave off points from the deficit.
Brink was now the first Spark in double figures with 10 points. At the end of the third, LA was down by 14.
Neither team opened the final frame well, missing their shots, until Williams converted on a jumper for Golden State. Nneka answered on the other end with a layup for Los Angeles. Each time the Sparks seemed to be on the verge of mounting a comeback, the Valkyries responded.
It was now a 13-point game with 5:16 left.
Plum fouled out with 4:25 left in the game and with just nine points. Things went from bad to worse as Brink went to the locker room with an apparent ankle injury, adding injury to insult to wrap up a brutal night.
Key Player Stats
Brink had 10 points and two rebounds. Plum finished with nine points. Nneka ended with nine points, seven rebounds and two assists.
Ariel Atkins pitched in with six points and two assists. Dearica Hamby logged six points with 10 rebounds, three assists and two steals. Burrell scored 13 points with three blocks. Erica Wheeler grabbed four rebounds and dished five dimes.
The Sparks’ next game will be against the Minnesota Lynx on Wednesday at 7:00 PM PT.
You can follow Karin on Twitter at @KarinAbcarians.
