Los Angeles got back in the win column on Sunday, beating the Washington Mystics 91-83 to snap a three-game losing streak and give head coach Curt Miller his 150th career win.
“Curt continues to cement his legacy as one of the most successful women’s basketball coaches at both the collegiate and professional level,” general manager Karen Bryant said in an official statement regarding the accomplishment.
Despite the achievement, the Sparks failed to gain any ground in their push for the playoffs. With a dozen games remaining, they’ll have to play their best basketball of the season if they want to play past the regular season.
Sparks struggle to close
In the two games LA lost this past week, there was one common thread: a failure to execute in the fourth quarter.
Against the New York Liberty on Aug. 1, the Sparks were up by four entering the final frame. With 2:37 left in the game, the score was even at 67 before New York went on a 9-2 run to close the Sparks out. The Sparks experienced a similar fate in the following game against the Washington Mystics. Los Angeles was within one possession of victory but couldn’t get a stop in the closing minutes and lost 79-77.
The inability to close out games often is a characteristic of young, inexperienced teams like…
