It wasn’t pretty, but the Sparks beat the Mystics thanks to rookie Cameron Brink stepping up big in the closing seconds.
LONG BEACH — The Sparks secure their first win of the WNBA season on Tuesday, beating the Mystics 70-68, ending their time at the Walter Pyramid with a victory.
Los Angeles is a legacy franchise in the WNBA, having been here since the league's inception, but the Sparks are clearly in a rebuilding year.
"We're not going to look aesthetically great in the month of May, but we'll get better and better," Curt Miller said postgame.
The Sparks were far from great during the first half. They could not score in the second quarter, mustering just eight points, but somehow managed to stay within striking distance, down by four at the break.
With the game hanging in the balance and both teams looking for their first win of the season, the Sparks turned to Cameron Brink to lead the team to victory and she did just that.
Brink played 30 minutes and had four points, eight rebounds, three steals, four blocks and the highest plus-minus on the team with a +11.
In the fourth quarter, Brink played all ten minutes and didn't score a basket. Still, she was the most important player on the floor.
Brink was flying all over, rotating around the perimeter and crashing the boards, grabbing half her rebounds in the final frame.
She was the spark plug for Los Angeles and the only thing that matched her intensity was the Long Beach crowd.
The energy inside the Pyramid felt more like a high school game. Fans were roaring to the point that my Apple Watch warned me that long exposure to this noise level could cause temporary hearing loss. Sparks fans persisted, stomping in the stands and shaking the arena during every Mystics free throw attempt.
With 7.6 seconds remaining in the game, Los Angeles was up by two and needed one more defensive stop to secure the result. What followed was defensive cinema.
The sequence started with Kia Nurse defending the Mystics inbounder, Ariel Atkins. Nurse stayed with Atkins when she got the ball back from Julie Vanloo. Dearica Hamby came up to help Nurse trap Atkins and the ball went inside to Shakira Austin.
Lexie Brown rotated and poked the ball just enough to give Austin some trouble. Austin maintained control of the ball and got the shot off. However, Brink met her at the top and she stuffed the shot, sending the ball out of bounds with 0.2 seconds left.
Cameron Brink with the rejection to all but seal the result for Los Angeles pic.twitter.com/509RnmHbbE
— Edwin Garcia (@ECreates88) May 22, 2024
Mystics had one more chance, but Brink was there for that shot attempt as well, denying Austin an opportunity to steal the win.
After the game, Curt Miller praised his No. 2 draft pick.
Her presence, even when she’s not blocking shots, she’s altering shots,” Miller said. “Her ball pressure on their post players that were facilitating from the perimeter, she’s a factor. Proud of her staying out of foul trouble tonight against Dolson and Austin. Again, we got to find her more shots she’s unselfish to a fault… but that will come. Her immediate impact here as she gets accustomed to playing in this league is certainly on the defensive end.
With only three professional games under her belt, Brink is already a defensive tyrant. She's not just a rim protector; she's the one attacking the offense. Brink doesn't just reject shots; she discourages the attempts altogether. It's early, but all the signs are there for her to be a top defender for this team and the league.
This draft class has had a lot of weight put on its shoulders as they are expected to take the WNBA to new heights. That kind of pressure can break a player, but Brink appears to be shining.
She's appearing on podcasts with NBA players like Paul George, throwing out pitches at Dodger games and then sealing wins on the floor.
The Sparks have always had a dominant big as the face of the franchise. First, it was Lisa Leslie, then Nneka Ogwumike and now Brink appears ready to carry on that tradition.
You can follow Edwin on Twitter at @ECreates88.
