The Los Angeles Sparks are on the outside of the playoff race with seven games left in the regular season.
That means a home loss to the Washington Mystics on Sunday night would represent a major blow.
Los Angeles (17-20) stands 2 1/2 games behind the Golden State Valkyries for the eighth and final spot entering the game against the Mystics (16-24). The Sparks are also three games behind the Seattle Storm and Indiana Fever.
Washington was eliminated from playoff consideration on Saturday night when it was walloped 99-62 by the Valkyries in San Francisco. The Mystics have lost six straight games with the last two coming by an average of 31.5 points.
Now Washington will attempt to bounce back in the finale of a three-game road trip and put a dent in Los Angeles’ hopes.
The Sparks sabotaged themselves pretty well with consecutive home losses, including a 76-75 setback to the Fever on Friday.
Los Angeles coach Lynne Roberts is calling on her team to step up its competitive level.
“We can emotionally, mentally check out and just kind of go through the motions or we can dig down,” Roberts told reporters after the Friday defeat. “I know these guys are going to dig down.”
Though the Sparks aren’t in control of their situation, forward Dearica Hamby has decided the team does have some influence.
“We can kinda still control our own destiny,” Hamby said. “We can go 5-2 and make a shot at this, [or] turn the page and keep going.”
Azura Stevens of the Sparks recorded 17 points, six rebounds, five assists, two steals and two blocked shots against Indiana.
The Mystics weren’t competitive against Golden State just two days after falling 89-63 to the New York Liberty.
Washington scored just eight first-quarter points and trailed 51-22 at halftime. Golden State’s largest lead was 37 points.
“We’re certainly not playing great,” Mystics coach Sydney Johnson said in the postgame press conference. “They put a lot into this season so I’m not running to the hills or anything like that. Tough moments, tough times for us.”
Backup Lucy Olsen said the outlook is still positive despite the recent poor stretch.
“We all know we have a really good team,” said Olsen, who had 13 points off the bench against Golden State. “To be great, you have to go through some tough times and you have to learn it’s not going to be all butterflies and rainbows. … If we can get through those times, we’ll just come out that much better.”
Sug Sutton led the Mystics with 17 points to match her season high.
The Sparks are 2-1 against the Mystics this season, including a 99-80 home win on July 15.
–Field Level Media
