Rookie Olivia Miles, streaking Lynx look to douse Sparks

The Minnesota Lynx have reeled off 10 wins in a row, and they don't want a letdown now that their winning streak has reached double digits.

Minnesota (25-6) will try to continue its good fortune on Thursday when it tips off against the Los Angeles Sparks (11-18) in Minneapolis.

The Lynx are coming off an emotional 108-100 win over the Indiana Fever on Sunday. Minnesota held off one of the league's hottest teams and finished with its second-highest scoring total of the season, trailing only a 111-point effort in a win against the Phoenix Mercury on June 1.

Meanwhile, the Sparks will play on short rest after losing 95-88 on the road against the Chicago Sky on Wednesday night. Los Angeles was outscored by eight points in the fourth quarter en route to the seven-point loss.

Dearica Hamby, who led Los Angeles with 22 points and 14 rebounds, will look to be a key part of the Sparks' starting lineup when she plays again less than 24 hours later.

Monique Akoa Makani, who had three points off the bench, also will look to settle in with her new Sparks teammates. She made her team debut on Wednesday after Los Angeles acquired her in a deal that sent Kelsey Plum to Phoenix.

"You don't want to overload to where they feel overwhelmed like, ‘This is way too much,'" Sparks coach Lynne Roberts said of her new player. "So (we're focusing on) the basics defensively, the basics offensively, and then just build. You want her to have some comfort level in the principles and the foundation stuff and then build from there."

Minnesota's Courtney Williams, who is part of a deep roster of talented scorers, said the key to her team's success on offense is its versatility. Williams and her teammates will try to keep the surprises coming when they face the Sparks.

"The foundation that we had in place since training camp -- honestly, since I've been here -- it's moving the ball and whatever is the best shot is the shot that we take," Williams said. "We all are confident in each other."

Rookie point guard Olivia Miles leads the Lynx with 19.7 points and 5.8 assists per game. Napheesa Collier is contributing an average of 18.3 points per game in her first four contests since returning from offseason surgery, and Kayla McBride is averaging 17.8 points per game this season.

Miles is coming off a 28-point game against Indiana in which she shot 11 of 14 overall and 3 of 6 from beyond the arc.

"Olivia Miles, as a rookie and coming in and everything, there's a lot on her shoulders," Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve said. "And when things go well, it's a lot of fun. And then when she has moments in the game where it's a little tougher, her ability to just kind of fight through different schemes and attention that she's getting (is remarkable).

"... That maturity as a rookie is very, very impressive."

--Field Level Media