After winning their first 14 games, including three preseason games, the Minnesota Lynx showed the Sparks why there are two excellent teams in the WNBA. The Lynx beat Los Angeles 72-69 last Tuesday at the Staples Center. The 9,112 fans that included summer camps throughout the Los Angeles area saw Lynx guard Renee Montgomery hit a three-point shot in the corner with 2.9 seconds left on the clock.
Tonight the Sparks are in Minnesota for a 5 o’clock game. Sunday they open a six-game homestand at Staples, playing Connecticut at 2 o’clock. On Tuesday, they play Dallas at 7, and Thursday’s game against Atlanta really does start at 12:30.
Last Tuesday, the Lynx, 13-0, exposed the 11-1 Sparks in several categories. The Sparks were outrebounded 42 to 29. They gave up nine offensive rebounds in the first half. The Sparks also turned the ball over 17 times.
“When you play against a quality opponent, they bring out your weaknesses,” said Coach Brian Agler. “That is not all bad because they need to be addressed.”
Sparks coaches and players still are looking for near perfection. “We are not where we want to be,” said Agler. “We need to be better in our offensive execution. We need to find ways to get Nneka (Ogwumike) more opportunities. We need to make the defense work harder. A lot of areas need to improvement.”
Ogwumike is the Sparks leading scorer, averaging 17 points. Against the Lynx she made two out of three shots and scored nine points. Kristi Toliver led the Sparks with 20 points, Essence Carson scored 11 and Alana Beard had 10.
“We can learn from this loss and clean up some things,” said Beard. “We did not pay attention to detail. The little things we can control. We are a good team. But we can be a great team. It all depends on how great we want to be. I think a game like this is good for women’s basketball.”
Jantel Lavender, one of the Sparks most consistent players off the bench, realizes the team needs to be ready in the final minutes of a close game.
“This was the first time we had to execute in the final minutes,” she said. “We did not get the ball to the right people. We will be alright, though. We just need to keep doing the things that we do well.”
Mr. Finley may be contacted at sfinley50@aol.com