Olivia Miles carves up shorthanded Sparks, leads Lynx to a win
The Sparks’ defensive struggles continued on Wednesday during a 99-83 loss to the first-place Minnesota Lynx at Crypto.com Arena.
The Sparks (7-7) had trouble containing Lynx rookie Olivia Miles, who set a WNBA rookie record with 24 first-half points and finished with a career-high 31. Miles helped the Lynx (11-3) make a strong push for a spot in the Commissioner’s Cup championship, but the Las Vegas Aces snatched the final spot against the New York Liberty with a victory over Phoenix on Wednesday night.
Sparks guard Kelsey Plum, the WNBA’s leading scorer, missed the game with a lower leg injury. The team also played without forward Cameron Brink, who sprained her ankle on Monday.
Rae Burrell led the Sparks in scoring with 19 points, while Jihyun Park added 13 off the bench. Dearica Hamby was limited to 12 points and nine rebounds, while Nneka Ogwumike added 10 points and eight boards.
“I thought [Jihyun] was a bright spot. She is really smart out there and knows what she is doing,” Sparks coach Lynne Roberts said. “That’s what you need to do when you get those moments — you take advantage of it, and that’s what she did.”
With Plum and Brink out, Roberts said pregame that it would take a team effort to beat Minnesota, but it was a tough climb for four quarters.
The Sparks were nearly perfect in the first quarter before committing their first turnover with under five minutes to play. The turnover swung the momentum in Minnesota’s favor.
The Lynx erased the Sparks’ 7-3 lead — fueled by quick starts from Burrell and Hamby. Burrell scored 10 points by being aggressive in all areas and Hamby scored 10 of her 12 points in the first half.
Miles took a few minutes to get her feet wet. Once her shots started to fall, the Sparks struggled to contain her.
“She is good,” Roberts said about Miles’ performance. “She is talented. Like I said pregame, she is super skilled, and we were trying to mix things up. We didn’t execute exactly how we’d hoped to all the time, but you just have to tip your cap to her. She is a great player with a lot of skill.”
Lynx took their first lead with a jumper from Natasha Howard with 5:04 left in the first quarter. The lead changed frequently early, but the Lynx opened the second quarter with a 27-21 advantage.
The Sparks’ scoring trouble flared up in the second quarter just as Miles got hot. The Sparks were outscored 29-18 during the quarter and entered halftime down 52-37.
After trailing by as many as 20 points in the third quarter, the Sparks cut the margin to 10. Erica Wheeler sank two free throws to cut the deficit to 61-51 with 4:32 remaining in the third quarter.
The Sparks held Miles to five points during the third quarter, but the Lynx got 20 points from Nia Coffey and 15 points from Howard.
Fouls and turnovers crushed the Sparks’ rally. After Minnesota built a big lead, both teams cleared their benches late in the fourth quarter.
The Sparks haven’t beaten the Lynx at home since Aug. 21, 2018. L.A. is riding a two-game losing streak and will face Eastern Conference leader New York Liberty on Sunday at Crypto.com Arena. The game will feature a celebration of the WNBA’s 30th anniversary.
“We are going through adversity right now,” Roberts said. “We just got to get healthy.”