The Sparks are showing resilience

Los Angeles, CA (News4usonline) – The Los Angeles Sparks are teetering on the edge of not making the postseason. A few more defeats and the uncertainty will become official. The rest of the month of August will likely determine if the Sparks become a playoff team or not. 

In the meantime, Los Angeles has a lot of ground to make up to even think about being in the playoff picture. As of now, the Sparks are seven games back from the last and final playoff berth, and spiraling downward. 

But if they go out, at least the Sparks have determined not to go without making some noise. Recently, the Sparks upset the Minnesota Lynx, the team with the best record in the WNBA. And they came very close to knocking off the Golden State Valkyries, a squad boasting the league’s second-best mark. 

A game removed from recording their biggest win of the season when they took down the Minnesota Lynx, the Sparks found themselves humbled at home by the Golden States Valkyries. 

A 31-point fourth-quarter by the Sparks was not enough for Los Angeles to overtake the team with the second-best record in the Western Conference and the WNBA. Afterward, forward Nneka Ogwumike, who scored a team-high 16 points for the Sparks, reflected on the team’s energy throughout the contest.  

“I think today was kind of more of a mind over matter type of day,” Ogwumike said. “I don’t want to use the schedule as an excuse. As pros, I’ve been doing this a long time. There’s always a point in the season when the schedule gets like this, and so I think today was a bit more mind over matter. 

“It took us a little bit of time to kind of get into the game, but I am happy that we didn’t just acquiesce to the results of the first quarter. So, you really just kind of have to get that focus and lock in,” she went on to say. 

The first quarter looked like a blur for the Sparks as Golden State went off to the races as they quickly built a 29-15 advantage by the time the first frame had concluded. 

It looked like it was going to be one of those nights for the Sparks as they just could not get untracked in the first period. 

Golden State made 70 percent of their shots from the field (12 of 17) and looked virtually unstoppable in the opening period. The Sparks then kicked in with some stellar defensive play following that horrendous first period.   

The second quarter was a a lot better as Los Angeles played with a lot more spunk and grit as they outscored Golden State, 17-16. What a difference a quarter makes. The Sparks held Golden State to just 37 percent shooting from the field in the second quarter (6 of 16), and that changed the momentum of the game. 

The defensive surge by the Sparks carried over into the third quarter as they held Golden State to 19 points in the period, keeping within striking distance of the visitors. 

After scoring only 17 points (second quarter) and 15 points (third quarter), the Sparks showed no signs of an offensive offensive explosion would be coming in the final period. But that’s exactly what happened. 

Golden State managed to withstand the Sparks’ late-charging rally and handed Los Angeles its 19th (12-19) loss of the season. Sparks guard Erica Wheeler, who scored eight of her 15 points in the fourth quarter, kept things on the positive side after the defeat as she talked about the team’s resilience. 

“We wake up to play the game that we love,” Wheeler said. “Things happen, changes happen. At the end of the day, you got to move on from it and lock in on the people that’s right next to you… that’s what we’ve been doing.” 

She continued, “I think we’ve been showing some tough shit… I think we’ve been showing that we’re just happy to be here. This is a dream job. Even though it’s hard, it’s still a dream job. I think everybody in that locker room knows that. We’re playing for the person that’s next to us and also for our coach.” 

About the best thing that Sparks head coach Lynne Roberts could talk about afterward was the number of minutes that she’s been giving to Rae Burrell. Burrell led the Sparks’ charge in the final quarter, scoring all nine of her points in the period while playing all 10 minutes. 

The Sparks made 13 of 20 shots from the field (65 percent) in the closing quarter to put a scare into Golden State.     

“Rae [Burrell]’s built to play,” Roberts said. “I’m not worried, and she’s young, and so I don’t think she’s playing too many minutes. I don’t think that was a fatigue thing. I think the way Golden State put Gabby Williams on her, who was one of the best defenders in the league, frustrated her. Rae’s now in a starting role, so she’s playing against primary guys, and her speed and athleticism is a danger for defenses.”