Sparks overpowered by Lynx for first loss of the season

Despite some valiant efforts, the Sparks came up short, losing due to the offensive firepower of the Lynx.

The Minnesota Lynx’s explosive offense overwhelmed the Sparks in a decisive 89–75 victory on Sunday afternoon.

Azurá Stevens scored 21 points with six rebounds, two steals and a block. Dearica Hamby ended with 20 points, 10 rebounds and two assists. Kelsey Plum had 18 points to go with five assists and two rebounds.

Rickea Jackson pitched in with eight points and three rebounds. Odyssey Sims did the dirty work, grabbing four rebounds and dishing out three dimes.

Los Angeles started slow, missing shots and taking time to find any rhythm. Five players scored for Minnesota to give them momentum and an early lead.

Azurá started heating up for the Sparks and drained three straight 3-pointers. She was the first player on the team in double figures with 11 points.

The Sparks gained a lead, and after the Lynx took a timeout, they scored four points to make it a one-point game.

Napheesa Collier was cooking for Minnesota, scoring 10 points. Kelsey didn’t score a shot all quarter, but had three assists. Rickea had a few great shots off the glass for six points. At the end of the first, the Lynx were up five.

Kelsey was much more assertive and scored five straight points to open the second quarter. The Sparks tied the game, but the Lynx retook the lead by two, forcing a timeout by Los Angeles.

Unfortunately, Los Angeles turned the ball over out of the break. Dearica rectified it with a 3-pointer on another play. She was heating up with five straight points for the Sparks. Collier scored five to put the Lynx in the lead again, after the Sparks had taken it over.

Minnesota had gone up by six until Kelsey drained a 3-pointer to cut the deficit in half. Dearica grabbed her fifth rebound off a missed 3-pointer from Kelsey and scored on a hook shot. L.A.’s scoring run had ballooned to 5-0.

Both teams had a great offensive game and shot nearly identical numbers from the field, with the Sparks shooting 48.5% and the Lynx at 48.6%. At halftime, the purple and gold were down by one.

The Sparks started the second half rough, missing shots until Rickea converted on a runner to the basket. They turned the ball over and looked rattled by Minnesota’s defense. The Lynx pushed their lead to eight with a 9-0 scoring run.

Minnesota’s defense made it hard for Los Angeles to find any consistency on offense. L.A. desperately needed to see the basket go through the hoop.

Kelsey delivered with a 3-pointer, but the team was still in need of finding some offensive firepower.

Los Angeles had a tough time defending Courtney Williams, who was up to 13 points and was three for six from behind the arc. L.A. managed to creep to within six as the quarter was winding down, but the Lynx responded and pushed their lead to eight at the end of the third.

The Sparks started the final frame with five straight points, putting them in position for a possible comeback win. That was thwarted as the Lynx responded fast with seven points of their own.

Kelsey fouled out with 3:32 left. The Lynx then completely took over the rest of the game.

Key Takeaways:

Rookie Sarah Ashlee Barker showed signs of improvement already. Her rebounding and hustling were impressive.

This was the first big test for the Sparks, and although they came up short, we saw spurts of great play that the team can build on.

The Sparks’ next game will be Wednesday against the Phoenix Mercury at 7:00 PM PT.

You can follow Karin on Twitter at @KarinAbcarians.