MINNEAPOLIS — A long slog of a season ended on a bright note for the Sparks.
Dearica Hamby scored 20 points, Rickea Jackson added 19 and the last-place Sparks closed the WNBA season with a 68-51 victory over the playoff-bound Minnesota Lynx on Thursday night.
The Sparks (8-32) ended their eight-game losing streak and stopped Minnesota’s seven-game winning streak.
The second-seeded Lynx (30-10), who had nothing to play for and will be at home to begin a best-of-three first-round series against seventh-seeded Phoenix on Sunday afternoon, opted to rest All-Star Napheesa Collier and 3-point sharpshooter Kayla McBride.
Kia Nurse added 12 points for the Sparks and Odyssey Sims had nine assists. Hamby, who shot 8 for 13 from the field, added seven rebounds, three assists and three steals to her point total. Jackson, who shot 7 for 16 (3 for 8 from 3-point range), added eight rebounds and two blocked shots.
Minus two key cogs, the Lynx had their worst offensive output of the season. None of their players scored in double figures as they shot 28.6% (16 for 56) from the field and had 17 turnovers. Diamond Miller and Alissa Pili led the way with eight while Natisha Hiedeman had seven and Myisha Hines-Allen, Bridget Carleton, Alanna Smith and Courtney Williams all had six.
The Sparks took the lead early and kept it. They had a 16-point lead in the first half, but settled for a 38-30 advantage at the break.
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It was 53-44 heading into the fourth quarter. Williams completed a four-point play with 7:39 remaining to pull Minnesota within 53-48 but the visitors scored the next 13 points for a 66-48 lead with less than three minutes remaining. Nurse had three of her four 3-pointers during the surge and Rae Burrell added another.
In a 12-team league in which the top eight make the playoffs, the Sparks missed the postseason for the fourth consecutive year. They went 2-14 after the Olympic break but will have the best odds at landing the No. 1 overall pick in the WNBA draft lottery, widely expected to be Connecticut star Paige Bueckers.