The Lynx’s run stops at 10
Minnesota had not lost since the middle of July. The WNBA’s runaway leaders carried a 10-game winning streak into Thursday night, and for most of the evening they looked ready to make it 11. Then Los Angeles shut the door. The Sparks reeled off the final eight points to win 89-82 and hand the Lynx their first defeat in three weeks.
Erica Wheeler scored four of those points in the game-ending 8-0 burst, the sequence that turned a tight finish into an upset. For a Sparks team chasing a playoff berth, few wins this season carry more weight than one taken from the league’s best.
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Balance did the damage
Rae Burrell led the winners with 17 points. Dearica Hamby added 16 and nine rebounds, Nneka Ogwumike matched the 16 with seven boards, and Cameron Brink filled the sheet with 12 points, eight rebounds, five assists and three blocks. Four players in double figures and no single hero, which is how a team without Minnesota’s firepower beats a side that has it.
The Lynx will not panic. A 10-game streak buys plenty of margin, and they remain the team to catch. Thursday was simply a reminder that the gap at the top is thinner than the standings suggest.
Playoff stakes
Los Angeles has spent the season on the edges of the postseason race. Beating the Lynx settles nothing on its own, yet it is the kind of result that can reframe a stretch run.
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