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Cameron Brink and the Los Angeles Sparks came up short at home on Tuesday, falling to the Phoenix Mercury, 92-84.
Brink finished with four points and five rebounds in the loss. Dearica Hamby led the way for the Sparks with 25 points and eight rebounds, while Kelsey Plum added 20 points and four assists.
With the loss, the Sparks dropped to 17-19, solidifying their spot in ninth place and slipping further behind in the race for a top-eight playoff berth.
On the other side, Kahleah Copper paced the Mercury with 18 points and three assists and Satou Sabally chipped in 19 points and three rebounds. Phoenix improved to 23-14 and held firm in fourth place in the WNBA standings.
Hamby opened the scoring for the Sparks just over 90 seconds into the game, putting up the team’s first four points in the opening quarter. The Mercury jumped out to a quick 20-11 lead and maintained control, though the Sparks narrowed the gap to trail 24-18 after the first 10 minutes.
The second quarter remained tight, with Hamby adding seven more points as both teams traded baskets. The Sparks entered halftime down by eight.
At the break, Hamby led Los Angeles with 13 points, while Plum chipped in five. Copper paced the Mercury with 10 points in the first half.
Coming out of halftime, Brink and the Sparks briefly found their rhythm, cutting the deficit to four. But Copper responded, building on her 10-point first half to help the Mercury extend the lead to 11 heading into the fourth.
Phoenix closed the game strong with a dominant fourth quarter, pulling away as the Sparks struggled to find answers on either end of the floor.
The Sparks will host the Indiana Fever on Friday in a pivotal matchup, as both teams are battling for the final playoff spot.
