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Short-handed Sparks fall back to .500 with loss to Lynx

June 17, 2023

LOS ANGELES — A depleted Sparks team blew a 12-point first-half lead and lost to the Minnesota Lynx, 77-72, on Friday night at Crypto.com Arena.

Jordin Canada led the Sparks with a career-high 22 points to go with five assists, and Dearica Hamby added 14 points and nine rebounds.

Nneka Ogwumike, the Sparks’ leading scorer this season, struggled to find a rhythm, scoring just eight points on 2-for-9 shooting from the field to go with five rebounds and seven assists.

Napheesa Collier had 25 points on 9-for-13 shooting and six rebounds to pace the Lynx, who had rallied to beat the Sparks, 91-86, on Sunday in Minnesota. Kayla McBride added 16 points and five rebounds.

“Some of the same stuff that bothered us in Minnesota continued to bother us and that’s the frustrating part,” Sparks coach Curt Miller said. “We tried to get a few things corrected and the same few things bothered us again.”

This time, the Lynx went on a 10-2 run to take a 63-57 lead early in the fourth quarter. With just under 50 seconds left, Ogwumike made a layup to bring the Sparks within two points at 74-72.

On the ensuing possession, Lynx forward Dorka Juhász was fouled on a layup attempt, but she made just one of two free throws. Ogwumike missed a two-point jumper with 23.5 seconds left and Minnesota iced the win with free throws.

The Sparks came into Friday night’s game with a litany of injuries. Four players were ruled out, which forced the Sparks to sign guard Destanni Henderson to an emergency hardship contract on Friday morning.

Despite the injuries, Miller said there were no excuses heading into the rematch with the Lynx.

“What we talked about is no one’s gonna feel sorry for us, we’re not the only ones in this league right now with a lengthy injury list and an injury report,” Miller said.

The Sparks’ first half was highlighted by an exceptional hustle play in the second quarter.

With just over four minutes left in the half, Canada stole a pass near midcourt, but she missed the ensuing layup and fell to the court in the process.

As the shot came off the basket, it took a high bounce and was headed out of bounds before the seated Canada pushed herself off the floor with her left hand and, while falling backward, used her right hand to reach and tip the ball to Ogwumike. Ogumike quickly wrapped a no-look pass around a Minnesota defender to Hamby, who converted the layup that had the arena buzzing.

Incredible hockey assist from Jordin Canada pic.twitter.com/uRhtGuUFg4

— CJ Fogler account may or may not be notable (@cjzero) June 17, 2023

The Sparks led 43-34 going into the halftime break.

The Sparks came out of the halftime break flat, allowing Minnesota to go on a 16-9 run to start the third quarter. The Sparks allowed the Lynx to shoot 62.5% from the field in the third quarter and went into the fourth trailing, 58-57.

Miller attributed the team’s second-half struggles to breakdowns on the defensive end.

“We just had breakdowns tonight … at times we did not execute the coverages that we were in,” Miller said.

With the thin backcourt, Canada played all 40 minutes. Miller said he felt like the way the Lynx chose to defend Canada was “insulting,” but Canada said she does not have anything to prove.

“As you can see with the boxscore, I’ve had some good games against them. … So I don’t really feel like I was insulted,” Canada said. “I don’t really care what other teams do against me or how they decide to guard me. I’m very comfortable, confident in my abilities.”

The Sparks (5-5) continue their homestand against the Connecticut Sun (8-3) on Sunday at 4:30 p.m. Minnesota (3-7) plays at Las Vegas on Sunday before returning to Los Angeles for a third matchup with the Sparks on Tuesday night.

Hamby said the team must move on and get ready for another tough matchup against the Sun.

“We gotta get up in the morning and focus on Connecticut,” Hamby said. “There’s no time to sulk and be down about this game. We just have to keep going.”

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Orange County Register

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Short-handed Sparks fall back to .500 with loss to Lynx

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