It wasn’t hostile but ear-splitting nonetheless. A cauldron of raucous sound in Crypto.com Arena, a steady drum of piercing noise. Well, high-pitched screams, to be more exact.
Thousands of children poured in on Kids Day for the Sparks’ game Thursday, but Minnesota didn’t care who was in the stands as Napheesa Collier led the first-place Lynx, on the second of a back-to-back, to a 91-82 victory.
The Sparks (6-14) rode the wave of loud fan support to a 16-0 run early in the first quarter. By the close of the third quarter, they were down 21 points. A 17-0 run from the end of the third into the fourth wasn’t even enough to bring them back.
A 22-10 turnover differential, combined with the Lynx’s top-rated defense under coach Cheryl Reeve, proved an insurmountable formula for the Sparks.
“Minnesota’s good,” Sparks head coach Lynne Roberts said during the week leading up to the game. “They’re a machine. Cheryl Reeve is the matriarch of the league, and just does an unbelievable job. They’re so disciplined, they play so hard.”
On the week the WNBA’s All-Star teams were announced, Collier led her league-leading Lynx (18-3) into Crypto.com Arena as the league’s most potent scorer at 23.9 per game. She’ll be joined by teammate Courtney Williams in the All-Star festivities July 19 in Indiana.
However, it wasn’t either of the front-runners that initially powered Minnesota in the first half. Guard Natisha Hiedeman poured in 16 first-half points to spearhead the Lynx.
The Sparks regularly double- and triple-teamed Collier in the paint, leaving open opportunities for others on kick-outs. Heideman proved the greatest benefactor, hitting two first-quarter 3-pointers and finishing with 18 points.
“You’re not going to hold (Collier) to zero,” Roberts said before the game. “With a player like that, you have to do the best job you can with adjustments so that she doesn’t just get into rhythm and stay in rhythm. If you let her get comfortable, then you’re in trouble.”
By the second half, as the piercing screams began to subside, Collier did find more comfort.
But not a wealth of it.
After scoring just eight in the first half, the MVP front-runner eventually finished with 17 points with eight rebounds and five assists, but shot only 42% from the field and missed all six 3-point attempts.
The Sparks’ lone All-Star, Kelsey Plum, showed her star pedigree, scoring 17 with three 3-pointers. It wasn’t enough to send the young fans home happy.
With the loss, the Sparks move to 3-7 in their last 10 and remain near the bottom of the Western Conference standings.
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