SEATTLE -- The Los Angeles Sparks (18-20) need this game.
After dispatching of the Washington Mystics on Sunday night, the team boarded a flight to the Pacific Northwest as they are going to play basketball against the Seattle Storm (22-19) on Monday.
It's not ideal that the Sparks are playing a back-to-back at this time of the season (although, to be fair, there's never an ideal time to play back-to-back games in the WNBA). The women are probably fatigued as hell. But this is what they'll have to do to stay alive in this contentious playoff race.
The Sparks have beaten the Storm twice this season in some heart-pounding contests. In Seattle on August 1st, the Sparks defeated the Storm in a double overtime marathon. Nine days later in Los Angeles, the squad beat the Storm again.
Well, they're going to have to do it a third time to stay alive in this playoff race.
"It is what it is. You're playing for something and our strength has to come from playing for each other and believing in the process," Sparks coach Lynne Roberts said after their win on Sunday. "Not necessarily outcome-driven, but like what (Azurá Stevens) said, we know what's at stake and we know what we're playing for. But we've got to just focus on being in the moment and not getting too ahead of ourselves and the pressure of, oh my gosh, we have to win. That's not a great way to be your best. Be in the moment, be present, take care of our bodies, do what we've got to do, and then just compete like hell for 40 minutes."
And compete like hell the Sparks will. The Storm went through a six-game swoon starting with that August 1st loss to the Sparks. But Seattle has won five of their last six games as they try to secure themselves a playoff spot.
Former Sparks have tried to put the hurt on their old team. Nneka Ogwumike was one short of a career-best in points with 37 in that double overtime game. Brittney Sykes put in 27, the best thus far as a Storm player, in the game in Los Angeles.
Their phenom, Dominique Malonga, is day-to-day with a wrist injury but if she's available, she's going to be a huge threat. Malonga went for 20 points and 11 boards in L.A. and it all seemed to come easy for her.
Nothing has come easy for the Sparks. This is a second game of a back-to-back for them. And then they'll have a game every other day from here on out.
Dearica Hamby has made the game-winning shots in both games against Seattle. Azurá Stevens has made big shots in both games. Kelsey Plum and Julie Allemand has come up big as well (Allemand made the game-saving tip in their last match-up). As of this writing, the status for Rickea Jackson is unknown. She played on Sunday but has been questionable coming into the last two games.
Everything is on the line here. A loss would be a huge blow to the Sparks' playoff hopes. But a win would jumble up everything and keep their postseason chase alive.