Sparks struggle against Liberty, record most lopsided loss of year

Sparks struggle against Liberty and record their most lopsided loss of the season

Zia Cooke dribbles and Rae Burrell looks up court

By Colin Beazley

Aug. 15, 2024 Updated 9:47 PM PT

After losing to the Liberty in the first game after the Olympic break, Sparks coach Curt Miller kept his opening statement short.

“That was a fun ... whupping,” Miller said. “Questions?”

The league-leading Liberty (22-4) scored the game’s first 10 points and 38 of the first 48 en route to a 103-68 win over the Sparks (6-19) at Crypto.com Arena. The 103 points were the most the Sparks had given up all season, while the 68 points they scored narrowly avoided a season low. The Sparks shot 36% (23-64) from the field and didn’t make a three pointer until the second half.

The Sparks couldn’t keep up with New York’s star power. The Liberty’s two Olympians, Breanna Stewart and Sabrina Ionescu, combined for 45 points. Sparks guard Rae Burrell led the team with 15 points, though 12 came on free throws.

Sparks forward Dearica Hamby, who won a bronze medal in Paris with the American 3x3 team, scored 14 points and a team-high 13 rebounds and five assists. Thursday was her first matchup since suing the WNBA and the Las Vegas Aces for discrimination, alleging the Aces treated her differently and traded her after learning Hamby was pregnant.

While Miller said the theme of the game was physicality, the difference was simpler. New York was focused, just four days after Stewart and Ionescu won a gold medal in Paris. The Sparks played as if they were still on vacation.

“Obviously that 10-0 start, [we] got punched at first, and we have to respond,” Miller said. “But then there was a 9-0 run to start the second quarter. … We just didn’t step back up to the first punch thrown.”

The Liberty never stopped punching. Stewart scored 27 points in 20 minutes, including hitting threes on three consecutive possessions midway through the third quarter. The Sparks had no answers for Ionescu (18 points, six assists) or forward Kayla Thornton (16 points). New York had 31 assists on 39 baskets and led by as many as 40 points, continually shredding the Sparks defense for easy layups or open threes.

Some post-Olympic rust was expected for the Sparks, Burrell said, both because they’re a young team and four played at the Olympics. They also had four players out injured, leaving the Sparks with just nine active players against the league’s best team. But she declined to make excuses.

“What was controllable tonight was effort,” Burrell said. “And I think we just lacked a little bit of effort tonight.”

Miller also didn’t want to make excuses. He hopes the result, even against the league’s best team, bothers the Sparks.

“On your home court, to be embarrassed like that, they have to come back with more pride,” Miller said. “That’s disappointing individually for all of us, players and coaches, but also, this is a franchise with a rich tradition. This doesn’t happen to the Sparks on the Sparks’ home court. My hope is that it bothers them, but we’ve got to move on.”

If there is a positive, it’s that the Sparks have no time to dwell on the loss. They play Saturday, facing Angel Reese and Chicago (10-15) at home (2 p.m., Spectrum SportsNet), and again Sunday in Las Vegas, facing the two-time defending champion Aces (3 p.m., NBATV). The schedule doesn’t get much easier, but there are opportunities to improve.

Still, even for a young team in a rebuilding year, Thursday was a disappointment.

“It’s a tough night,” Miller said. “I haven’t been involved with a game like that in a long time.”