The Los Angeles Sparks walked off the floor Monday with more than just a lost game. A three-game winning streak evaporated against the Golden State Valkyries, and backup center Cameron Brink limped into uncertainty with an ankle injury that now has the team scrambling for answers.
Head coach Lynne Roberts didn’t have a definitive timeline after the game, but by Wednesday’s shootaround ahead of a matchup with the Minnesota Lynx, the picture sharpened slightly. According to Roberts, it’s an ankle sprain, and Brink won’t be in the lineup anytime soon. The team hasn’t confirmed a specific recovery window, but the short-term plan is clear.
Next woman up — literally
Enter Sania Feagin, a second-year center who started the season sidelined by a leg injury that cost her six games. Since returning, she’s been putting in extra work, waiting for a moment that has now arrived. Against a Lynx team that leads the league in scoring at 92.6 points per game, Feagin will get her shot.
“It’s hard when we’re not practicing much. We’ve had a stretch where it’s just been travel-game, travel-game, travel-game,” Roberts said. “But she’s just been staying ready, getting extra work in and here we go … we need her to step up.”
The timing couldn’t be more brutal. Brink leads the Sparks in blocks — 1.5 per game, top-five in the WNBA — and anchors a defense that has quietly improved after a historically bad start to the season. Since late May, Los Angeles ranks in the top six in defensive rating. That’s the unit that now has to face Minnesota, which also sits second in offensive rating.
Roberts pushes back on the narrative
Fans and analysts have piled on the Sparks’ defensive reputation all season, but Roberts isn’t buying it.
“The narrative that we suck defensively, I’m not buying it,” she said. “Are there things we need to be better at, of course. Are we gonna continue to, yes. But we’re not as bad as people are talking about.”
A 78-point outing against Golden State in Monday’s loss suggests she has a point, even if the scoreboard didn’t cooperate.
Now the challenge is containing a Lynx offense that blends a dominant point guard, elite shooters, and a resurgent Natasha Howard. “They just have really good players that are fitting into a system so it’s got to be fundamental team defense,” Roberts added. “We’ve got to take away the easy ones, make them earn the hard ones. Easier said than done but that’s the goal.”
The Sparks get three days off after Thursday’s game before hosting the New York Liberty on Sunday. Another update on Brink could come by then, but for now, the focus is on whether depth can hold the line against the league’s best offense.
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