Losing to the Connecticut Sun is an expected result for the Los Angeles Sparks, but potentially losing Cameron Brink on a non-contact injury would hurt much worse.
The Sparks were no match for the best team in the WNBA, the Connecticut Sun, losing 79-70 on the road on Tuesday.
The loss is disappointing, but the biggest aspect of this game is the health of Cameron Brink. The Sparks rookie left the game with a non-contact injury and never returned.
This is the fourth straight defeat and the Sparks remain winless during this six-game road trip.
Before the game began, Sparks head coach Curt Miller made a huge change, starting Aari McDonald over Layshia Clarendon. This was McDonald’s first start as a Spark; she ended the night with 14 points, four rebounds and seven assists.
Clarendon played for 11 minutes off the bench and had two points, both coming from the charity stripe.
Dearica Hamby struggled most of the night, managing just eight points and five rebounds in 30 minutes. Rickea Jackson played her regular minutes but was unable to make a significant impact scoring 10 points on 3-7 shooting.
Early in the opening frame, the Sun established dominance jumping out to an early 7-2 lead. Four minutes into the contest, though, Brink suffered her injury and was done for the night.
The Sparks stayed competitive through the rest of the quarter but trailed 18-14 after ten minutes of play. Throughout the rest of the first half, the Sparks struggled to score points, an issue this team has dealt with all season long.
Hamby, who has been Los Angeles’s most consistent player, was a dud in the first two quarters, scoring zero points. No Sparks players scored in double figures and the Sun extended their lead to as many as 13 points.
The Sparks entered the break trailing 39-28.
With Brink out and Los Angeles trailing by double figures, a comeback was going to take a spectacular effort.
Yueru took over to start the second half with Brink out and had some nice baskets, staying aggressive and looking for her shot.
Los Angeles was able to reduce the lead to as little as five as the combo of Yueru and McDonald carried the offensive load, giving Los Angeles a shot at the upset.
Connecticut’s Alyssa Thomas, however, put an end to the rally by finishing strong near the rim and converting on a three-point play to extend the lead back to eight. The Sun ended the quarter on a 10-0 run holding a 15-point lead, their largest advantage of the night.
In the fourth quarter, the Sun hit a gear the Sparks just couldn’t match as DeWanna Bonner got hot, scoring with ease inside the paint. Connecticut won the points in the paint for the night 50-32.
The Sparks had a late rally that cut the deficit down to nine points in the final minute but it was more of a garbage time comeback than a legitimate chance at winning.
With 20 seconds left, the Sun dribbled out the clock to drop the Sparks to 4-11 on the season.
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