Los Angeles Sparks at Minnesota Lynx
· Women's National Basketball AssociationHamby scores 20 as last-place Sparks end skid with 68-51 win over postseason-bound Lynx
The Sparks (8-32) ended an eight-game losing streak and stopped Minnesota's seven-game winning streak.
The second-seeded Lynx (30-10) are home against seventh-seeded Phoenix in the best-of-three opening round on Sunday afternoon.
Kia Nurse added 12 points for the Sparks.
Resting All-Star and Olympian Napheesa Collier and 3-point sharpshooter Kayla McBride, the Lynx had their worst offensive output of the season.
No player reached double figures for the Lynx as they shot 28.6% (16 of 56) from the field and had 17 turnovers. Diamond Miller and Alissa Pili led the way with eight while Natisha Hiedeman had seven and Myisha Hines-Allen, Bridget Carleton, Alanna Smith and Courtney Williams all had six.
The Sparks took the lead early and kept it. They had a 16-point lead in the first half, but settled for a 38-30 advantage at the break.
It was 53-44 heading into the fourth quarter. Williams completed a four-point play with 7:39 remaining to pull Minnesota within 53-48 but L.A. scored the next 13 points for a 66-48 lead with under three minutes remaining. Nurse had three of her four 3-pointers in the surge and Rae Burrell added another.
The Sparks went 2-14 after the Olympic break and will have the best odds in the WNBA draft lottery.
Regular Season Series
MIN wins series 3-1
Recent Plays
4th 0.0 | End of Game | 68 - 51 | |
4th 0.0 | End of the 4th Quarter | 68 - 51 | |
4th 12.1 | Kia Nurse defensive rebound | 68 - 51 | |
4th 14.1 | Alissa Pili misses 11-foot two point shot | 68 - 51 | |
4th 34.1 | Myisha Hines-Allen defensive rebound | 68 - 51 |
Statistics
LA | MIN | |
---|---|---|
25-59 | FG | 16-56 |
42.4 | Field Goal % | 28.6 |
10-31 | 3PT | 7-23 |
32.3 | Three Point % | 30.4 |
8-9 | FT | 12-16 |
88.9 | Free Throw % | 75.0 |
36 | Rebounds | 28 |
5 | Offensive Rebounds | 6 |
31 | Defensive Rebounds | 22 |
18 | Assists | 11 |
5 | Steals | 8 |
4 | Blocks | 2 |
18 | Turnovers | 17 |
2 | Team Turnovers | 1 |
20 | Total Turnovers | 18 |
0 | Technical Fouls | 0 |
0 | Total Technical Fouls | 0 |
0 | Flagrant Fouls | 0 |
22 | Points Conceded Off Turnovers | 19 |
6 | Fast Break Points | 9 |
30 | Points in Paint | 14 |
12 | Fouls | 11 |
19 | Largest Lead | 3 |
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