WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The beat goes on for the Sparks (12-21) as they continue their East Coast swing in the nation's capital.
In the last episode, the Sparks nearly came back from 28 down against the Liberty. They had a chance to tie the game but it didn't work out as the team from New York escaped with a four-point victory.
The Sparks haven't won a lot this season but they keep fighting. In their last 10 losses, nine of them have been in single digits.
"I was really proud of the fight. We're down 28, and we played with a lot of fearlessness," Sparks coach Lynne Roberts said after Thursday's game. "Rae (Burrell) got going. We were figuring out what actions could work against their length. We gave up 11 O-boards (offensive rebounds) in the first half, only three in the second half. We are continuing to, you know, learn the hard way about putting four quarters together. But we can walk out of here with our heads high in terms of the fight. It would have been easy for these guys to just kind of roll over and die but they fought and so that's the culture we want."
Speaking of Burrell, her breakout season continued. She put in a career-high 28 points as her stock continues to rise.
"I felt like I was just trying to make the right reads and they kept going back to me so I just wanted to make sure that I stayed confident in choosing when to go and when to pass," Burrell said of her career game. "I just was trying to take the right shots. And my team, like I said, just put me in great positions to do so."
As for breakout seasons, it's hard not to think of the Mystics when it comes to that.
A path that will probably be emulated by teams in the future (not that the author is hinting at anything), the Mystics built around their youth and let them grow. The team is way ahead of schedule as they are poised to make the postseason after a two-year absence. Shakira Austin has become more of a powerhouse in the middle. Kiki Iriafen and Sonia Citron are both all-stars in their first two seasons. They have a great vet in Michaela Onyenwere and added one with championship experience in Betnijah Laney-Hamilton. The Mystics are full of promising youth and it's scary how they will be next year.
The Mystics (19-14) are coming off back-to-back losses against the Aces but they were on a seven-game win streak before that. They have a chance to get revenge on a floundering Sparks team, who beat them in late May. Of course, both teams were a lot different then.
For the Sparks, all they can do is continue to play hard. Continue to evaluate their young players (though Cameron Brink is listed as questionable for tonight's game). Play with pride. And give the young Mystics a hell of a fight.
And you know the Sparks will go down swinging as they enter the last quarter of their season.