PHOENIX -- The shorthanded Sparks could only do so much.
The Mercury (9-8) started to separate from the Sparks (4-14) in the third period before finishing them off in the fourth. Phoenix would defeat Los Angeles, 92-78.
The Sparks were missing Cameron Brink (out for the season), Azura Stevens (yet to return from an arm injury), Lexie Brown (out with Crohn's disease), and Layshia Clarendon (illness). They decided to go small to start against the Mercury and their size. That meant sacrificing a lot in terms of the paint and on the glass. Phoenix outscored L.A. by 12 in the paint and won the battle on the boards by a whopping 16 rebounds.
Los Angeles made 10 threes compared to seven by Phoenix. However, the Sparks only went 2 for 8 (.250) from behind the arc in the second half as the Mercury ran away from them. With Phoenix hanging on to a 65-61 lead in the third, they used a 15-3 flourish to put the game away. Kahleah Copper scored 11 huge points in the third period.
Sparks head coach Curt Miller's biggest worry is on the defensive end.
"We show signs offensively," Miller said. "My biggest concern is that... I've been very blessed and fortunate to have really good defensive teams in my eight previous years as a head coach. It was our calling card in Connecticut and we found ways to win when we didn't always have great offensive nights because we were an elite defensive team.
"Last year, after the all-star break, we had the #1 analytic defense in the league. We are not close to that right now. We have a very young team. Six of our nine tonight playing are in their first year with us. But we've got to raise the standard defensively. We are just not at the level that we can win games with our slippage on defense."
Dearica Hamby, who tied her career-high with 29 points, was asked how she could keep the team composed so they could continue to improve as a team.
"Next game up. You have to have short-term memory," Hamby assessed. "We know with the season that's composed of all the games in the short amount of time. Time doesn't stop. You keep going. We gotta regroup. We got Washington in a few days. Gotta move forward."
Aari McDonald had her first career double-double in the WNBA with 12 points and a career-best 10 assists.
"My confidence is an at all-time high," McDonald said. "And I credit that to my teammates and coaches for believing in me."
Rickea Jackson put in 14 points as she was the third player to score double figures for the Sparks.
As for the Mercury, Kahleah Copper led four Phoenix players that scored in double digits with 24. Diana Taurasi was hot again from three as she went 5 for 8 (.625) on her way to 20 points. Brittney Griner had her first double-double of the season with 18 points and 11 boards.
The Sparks went 0 for 7 on the road trip and will be back home for five of their six remaining games before the Olympic break. They hope to break that streak when they face the Washington Mystics on Tuesday at Crypto.com Arena.
The Sporting Tribune's Fredo Cervantes contributed to this report.