Sparks fall to Lynx, matching franchise losing streak with seventh straight loss
Napheesa Collier scored eight points in a late 12-0 run and finished with 22 points as the Minnesota Lynx defeated the Sparks 73-70 on Thursday night.
Collier scored 10 of her points in the fourth quarter as the Lynx (10-12) won despite squandering a 20-point lead, completing a season sweep of the Sparks (7-14), who matched a franchise record with its seventh straight loss.
Rookies Dorka Juhasz and Diamond Miller played key roles in the win. Juhasz scored a career-high 16 points on seven-for-10 shooting and grabbed 10 rebounds. Miller added 13 points, a career-high nine assists and eight rebounds.
The Sparks went on a 9-0 run and led 68-61 with four minutes left. Collier countered with a putback, a pair of layups and a short turnaround jumper and her teammates added four free throws as Minnesota took a 73-68 lead with 42 seconds remaining.
Jordin Canada ended the Sparks’ scoring drought as they closed within three points and, after a Minnesota miss, Nneka Ogwumike‘s three-point try spun out at the buzzer.
Layshia Clarendon, who has missed 14 games with a partially torn right plantar fascia, is slated to return Thursday for the Sparks’ first game after the All-Star break.
Ogwumike led the Sparks with 19 points. Lexie Brown, back in the lineup after missing more than a month, scored 13 points off the bench. Canada added 12 points and Layshia Clarendon had 11.
Ogwumike scored 13 points in the first quarter for the Sparks. The Lynx had a 28-10 scoring advantage in the second with Juhasz scoring 10 as Minnesota built a 46-29 lead at the break.
The Sparks closed the third quarter with an 18-2 run, outscoring the Lynx 26-11 in the period and pulling within 57-55.
