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 |
Game Information
Location: Minneapolis, MN
Attendance: 7,908 · Capacity:
2024-25 Western Conference Standings
| TEAM | W | L | PCT | GB | STRK |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Minnesota |
- | 10 | W1 | 0.77272725 | 34 |
 Las Vegas |
4 | 14 | W16 | 0.6818182 | 30 |
 Phoenix |
7 | 17 | L3 | 0.6136364 | 27 |
 Seattle |
11 | 21 | W1 | 0.52272725 | 23 |
 Golden State |
11 | 21 | L3 | 0.52272725 | 23 |
 Los Angeles |
13 | 23 | L1 | 0.47727272 | 21 |
 Dallas |
24 | 34 | W1 | 0.22727273 | 10 |
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