Sparks lose to Mercury at Galen Center in USC

LOS ANGELES — Different arena but the results weren't different from the last game.

It was another back-and-forth affair. The Sparks (12-20) took on the Mercury (13-22) at Galen Center in the University of Southern California. But it got away from them again as a late 8-0 run by Phoenix pretty much put the game away. The Sparks tried some late three-point shooting to catch up but it wasn't enough as the Mercury beat them in Los Angeles for the second straight game, 94-87.

It was not a great last few minutes for the Sparks. They turned the ball over seven times in the last five minutes of the game.

"I think it was the last four minutes when they went to the zone and we just kind of stopped moving it," Sparks coach Lynne Roberts said. "We got a little unsure. Zone offense is not rocket science. You just got to move the ball, I thought. We didn't shoot well, obviously. We had 14 more shot attempts than them but we shot poorly. And so they went to the zone because I think inside we had the advantage. And our shooting wasn't great but our quality of threes weren't great either down the last four or five minutes."

What was it about the zone defense that gave the Sparks trouble?

"I think it just makes you slow down and try to move the ball. It gets you out of the flow, out of the rhythm," Coach Roberts explained. "I always think against zone, it's not, you don't run a play, you make plays. It's with spacing, being unselfish, one dribble kickouts, the ball's got to move, the ball did not move. We were trying to throw dimes when you just need to make the easy play. But that's what zones do, you know? And I think if we had shot better, they probably would have gotten out of it.

"But we didn't. And, you know, New York zones too, so we're going to see it. And we're good enough," Roberts continued. "I mean, I think it's frustrating because I know we're better than that. But that's just the nature. That's why you do go zone. If you can get a team to kind of hiccup or get on their back foot a little bit, stop playing with pace. It made us slow down. And we're not great when we slow down."

"I think we just had some bad turnovers at bad times and then we didn't get defensive stops that we needed," Sparks wing Rae Burrell said. "So those things add up, especially at the end like that."

Three-point shooting was certainly a killer. Sparks went 7 for 32 (.219) while the Merc went 9 for 25 (.360)

"For me, the problem was offensively, you know, again, we just didn't shoot well," Coach Roberts said. "Our starting guards did not shoot well, uncharacteristically. And so, but again, I say it all the time, shooting percentage is a direct correlation to shot quality. And so I don't think that we were getting great looks against their zone. We're just a little too impatient, disorganized. I think that's what did it."

"Didn't really shoot the ball well from the three so it's disappointing," Burrell said, who, unfortunately, went 0 for 8 from behind the arc.

The Mercury didn't come in with a glowing record, either. And they want to finish the season strong even if the playoffs look bleak.

"For us, the rest of the way is just continue to play with pride playing the right way, trying to be competitive each and every tonight," Mercury coach Nate Tibbetts said before the game. "We're all, you know, been disappointed with how the year has gone, but like every night that you get out there to play, you have a chance to wear a Mercury uniform and be about the right stuff and we want to continue with that."

"I think we've got to play with some joy," Mercury All-Star Kahleah Copper said in pregame. "We've got to compete harder and play with joy. Just have that toughness, play with that energy."

Dearica Hamby (a perfect 8 for 8) and Burrell (who took a career-high 21 shots) each had 19 points to lead the team while Nneka Ogwumike nearly got a triple-double with 18-9-8. Noemie Brochant went off for a career-high 24 points and five steals for the Mercury. Copper finished with 18 points.

The Sparks are back on the road for the next three. They start the trek against the Liberty in New York.