RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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See the full story · 1 sourcesKamilla Cardoso of the Chicago Sky blocks Rae Burrell of the Sparks in the first half. (Geoff Stellfox / Getty Images)
So close, and yet so far.
The Sparks couldn’t build off of Sunday’s win Wednesday and dropped to seven games under .500 with a 95-88 loss in Chicago. It aligned with the story of the 2026 Sparks, where being fully competitive has been just out of reach except for a few flashes.
A decent middle of the game was overwhelmed by a bad opening and closing. Chicago scored 33 points in the first quarter and 34 in the fourth to keep the Sparks from fully closing in.
Dearica Hamby led the Sparks with 22 points and 13 rebounds for her fifth double-double of the season.
The Sparks ( 11-18 ) fell into a 15-point hole in the first after Chicago rattled off five three-pointers. The Sky (12-19) led 48-38 at the half.
Behind a 10-2 open to the third quarter, the Sparks took a brief lead for the first time and entered the fourth with a 62-61 lead after holding the Sky to just 13 points.
Cameron Brink scored 11 points with six rebounds despite earning her fifth foul early in the fourth quarter. Before the game, coach Lynne Roberts noted that she would like to get more minutes out of Brink, and avoiding foul trouble is part of that.
Chicago went on a 13-5 run as Brink left the game to retake a nine-point lead that would hold for the rest of the game.
Monique Akoa Makani, making her Sparks debut after being acquired in the Kelsey Plum trade Sunday, entered the game in the first and made her first shot attempt. She finished with three points and two assists in 16 minutes off the bench.
The Sky were without their leading scorer, rookie Sydney Taylor, but were powered by 15 points and nine assists from Natasha Cloud. The Sky’s 53% from the field was their second-best shooting percentage of the season.
With Washington’s win against Dallas on Wednesday, the Sparks could not gain any ground in the playoff race. Chicago now owns the tiebreaker with a 2-1 season series record and is as many games behind the Mystics, dropping the Sparks further down in the standings.
Phoenix lost on Wednesday to stay a game behind the Sparks.
The Sparks turn right around on Thursday night and face league-leading Minnesota (25-6).
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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times .
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