MINNEAPOLIS — Sparks rookie Rickea Jackson had a breakthrough night, but it wasn’t enough to lead her team to a road win against one of the hottest teams in the WNBA.
Jackson, the No. 4 pick in April’s Draft, had her first career double-double (19 points and 10 rebounds), but Napheesa Collier scored 30 points to go with a career-high eight steals, Courtney Williams had 15 points and 10 assists for her first double-double of the season and the Minnesota Lynx beat the Sparks, 81-76, on Friday night.
The Lynx (10-3) have won three consecutive games and six of their last seven.
Williams also finished with eight rebounds and four steals. Alanna Smith scored 12 points and Bridget Carleton added 11 for Minnesota.
Williams hit a 3-pointer that gave Minnesota the lead for good and Carleton made one of her own about two minutes later to cap a 9-2 surge that made it 57-50 late in the third quarter. The Sparks (4-9) trimmed their deficit to 63-61 when Lexie Brown made a layup with 7:33 to play, but Williams hit a pull-up jumper 24 seconds later and the visitors got no closer.
Dearica Hamby, who signed a one-year contract extension on Thursday, added 16 points and 11 rebounds for the Sparks, who had 21 turnovers. Aari McDonald had 14 points to go with seven assists and Brown finished with 12 points.
Jackson finished 6 for 10 from the field and 7 for 8 from the free-throw line. Cameron Brink, the Sparks’ other rookie, had a rough night. The No. 2 overall pick was held scoreless in 18 minutes while collecting four fouls. She went 0 for 6 from the field and 0 for 2 from the free-throw line to go with four rebounds, two steals and four turnovers.
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Kia Nurse made a driving layup to give the Sparks an 8-7 lead and spark a 16-2 run capped when McDonald made two free throws that made it a 10-point game late in the first quarter.
Brown’s layup with 3:01 left in the the second quarter stretched the lead to 40-28 but Williams answered with a pull-up jumper and Collier scored Minnesota’s next nine points to make it a one possession game before Hamby made a layup to give the Sparks a 44-39 halftime lead.
The Sparks continue their seven-game road trip when they take on the Atlanta Dream on Sunday at noon PT.