MINNEAPOLIS -- The Sparks (4-9) are back on a road trip as they return to Minnesota to play the Lynx (11-1).
The Lynx have beaten the Sparks twice this season and it hasn’t been that long since they last played. They played each other last week and it’s probably better for the Sparks if this game isn’t talked about much. But basically, the Lynx jumped on them from the start and suffocated the Sparks, 101-78.
“I feel like we just need to come out and punch first,” forward Rickea Jackson said. “We can’t just get punched and expect to be able to get back up against one of the best teams in the league, if not the best.”
It was 9-8, Lynx, with over six minutes left in the first quarter before the cats from Minneapolis scored the next 15 points. The Sparks never recovered from that onslaught.
The turnovers plagued the Sparks (they had 21) last week against the Lynx, which Coach Lynne Roberts expressed her disgust at. She also went on to say what else the team needed to get better at.
“We’ve got to get better defensively,” Coach Roberts said. “It’s been a challenge, as everybody knows, just with having so many key players out.”
At least, one key player will be coming back. Kelsey Plum returns after a one-game absence (regrettably, Grace Berger had to be waived) and is ready to go on Saturday night.
The Lynx themselves have a lot of key players. That includes Napheesa Collier, the early frontrunner in the Most Valuable Player award race, and multi-time all-star sharpshooter Kayla McBride.
Coach Roberts is watching out for someone else.
“I think Courtney Williams is their X-Factor,” Roberts said. “When she plays well, they’re really really good. She had a really good game against us (last week); first time we played them, she struggled. But I think she’s their engine. She makes them go.”
Williams scored 17 points in 18 minutes in last week’s game. She had a double-double in the first match-up with 13 points and 10 assists but shot 5 for 19.
Jackson had a different perspective.
“I just feel like, as a whole, that you can tell they spent a lot of time together,” Jackson said. “They have really good chemistry.”
Napheesa Collier scored 32 points in their last match-up but she is listed as questionable with a back ailment. As for the Sparks? It’s a lot easier to show this tweet:
6/21 Sparks Game Status Report at Minnesota Lynx:
— LA Sparks PR (@LASparksPR) June 20, 2025
#0 – Odyssey Sims – NWT – Personal Reasons
#12 – Rae Burrell – NWT – Right Knee
#20 – Julie Allemand – NWT – Overseas Commitment
#22 – Cameron Brink – NWT – Left Knee
Still, the Sparks have shown that they can stay with the Lynx in that first half of their first match-up. The Lynx’s defense can be stifling but the Sparks can still get some good shots off. They just can’t get sped up. Sparks shot .400 in the first game and then .414 last week against the Lynx.
“I think your shot selection will impact your shot making,” Coach Roberts said. “If we’re taking a lot of contested shots, a lot of rushed shots, a lot of too much self-created shots, your shooting percentage isn’t going to be very good. You’re not going to hit as many. So we’ve got to get back to shooting the shot quality we want.”
They’re going to need another double-double performance from Dearica Hamby, who got that feat in both games. Azurá Stevens did well in their first match-up with 21 points. Kelsey Plum averages 19 points against the Lynx this season. And Jackson herself has averaged 21.7 points in her last three games.
“I feel like I was being a little bit more aggressive, getting to my spots a little bit more,” Jackson said about her performances as of late. “I feel like we’ve just been, again, growing that chemistry on and off the court. So, of course, time just helps everything.”
It’ll admittedly, once again, be an uphill climb for the Sparks, even if Phee doesn’t play on Saturday night. But the key is to not let the game get away early.
Otherwise, it’ll be an easy repeat of last week.