SAN FRANCISCO — Before the Sparks’ blowout loss at Golden State on Monday, coach Lynne Roberts said her squad remained a “work in progress” despite three consecutive wins.
In their 78-58 defeat, the Sparks’ worst weaknesses were exposed: continued struggles on defense and a punchless offensive scheme with Kelsey Plum struggling to score. Their 58 points were the fewest they have scored all season and they shot a second-worst 33.3% from the floor.
The Sparks (7-7) were coming off victories against Portland and at Seattle and Phoenix but had no answers for the Valkyries’ smothering defense.
Golden State’s Kaila Charles and Gabby Williams kept Plum mostly in check, holding her to a season-low nine points after her career-high 43-point game in Phoenix on Saturday. Plum fouled out midway through the fourth quarter after being held to four points in the third quarter.
It was only the second time Plum fouled out of a WNBA game, and her first with the Sparks.
Plum shot three for nine, her fewest attempts in a game this season. The only other time she was held to single-digit points with the Sparks was in another road game at Golden State last season.
To make matters worse, Cameron Brink, who led the Sparks with 10 points, appeared to roll her left ankle in the waning minutes of the game and needed to be helped to the bench and then the locker room.
The Valkyries (9-5) ended the first quarter on a 17-4 run to lead 25-10. The Sparks went the final 3:45 without scoring. They made just three first-quarter baskets.
The Sparks cut the deficit to nine midway through the second quarter after a 16-6 run, powered by eight points from Brink off the bench.
But the Sparks’ defense couldn’t keep up with a Valkyries squad that shot 51.5% in the half. The Sparks trailed 45-26 at halftime after two Plum shots were blocked. Golden State scored the next 12 points and led by as much as 24.
Brink’s third-quarter entry gave the Sparks some life again as they narrowed it to a 13-point game.
The Sparks shot three for 21 from three-point range for their second-worst night from behind the arc this season. They committed 14 turnovers that turned into 20 Golden State points.
Along with Plum’s foul trouble, starting point guard Erica Wheeler finished with five fouls. In her return to Golden State, Sparks development player Kate Martin was the lone player with a positive plus/minus at plus-five in the ninth of her 12 allotted games.
The Sparks actually held the Valkyries to their third fewest points in a game this season, but they simply fell in too big of a hole early to recover.
The Sparks return home to face the first-place Minnesota Lynx (11-3) on Wednesday.
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