Dearica Hamby put up 20 points and seven rebounds and Rickea Jackson scored 19 points with eight rebounds as the Los Angeles Sparks ended an eight-game losing streak with a 68-51 victory over the playoff-bound Minnesota Lynx in the regular-season finale for both teams Thursday in Minneapolis.
Kia Nurse added 12 points off the bench with three 3-pointers in the fourth quarter as the Sparks (8-32) closed the season with just their second victory over their last 17 games. Los Angeles finished with the worst record in the WNBA.
Hamby set the Los Angeles record for points scored in a season with 691, breaking Nneka Ogwumike’s mark of 689 points set last season.
Already locked into the No. 2 seed of the playoffs, which begin Sunday, the Lynx (30-10) rested forward Napheesa Collier, the team’s leading scorer at 20.4 points per game and leading rebounder at 9.7. Minnesota guard Kayla McBride also was held out for rest.
Diamond Miller and Alissa Pili each scored eight points for the Lynx, who saw their seven-game winning streak come to an end while finishing the season with a 16-4 record at home. Alanna Smith had six points and eight rebounds for Minnesota.
The Sparks led 53-44 to open the fourth quarter, with the Lynx pulling to within 53-48 with 7:29 remaining after a four-point play from Courtney Williams. Los Angeles took control with a 13-0 run as Nurse hit three 3-pointers in the stretch to push the advantage to 66-48 with 2:47 left.
The Sparks got off to a fast start, leading 17-8 just over seven minutes into the game. Los Angeles had a 19-13 lead after the opening quarter and led 38-30 at halftime while forcing Minnesota into 12 turnovers in the opening two quarters.
The Sparks led by as many as 16 points in the first half.
Minnesota will open the best-of-three first-round playoff series Sunday at home against the Phoenix Mercury.
–Field Level Media
