Sky, Sparks search for solutions to early-season slumps

The Chicago Sky visit the Los Angeles Sparks on Sunday with both teams seeking to shed early-season slumps.

The Sparks (1-3) come in on a three-game skid as they opened Memorial Day weekend on Friday with an 82-73 setback against the expansion Golden State Valkyries. Kelsey Plum, the Sparks' marquee offseason acquisition, scored 16 points in the loss -- her fewest in the team's first four outings.

Plum opened her tenure in Los Angeles with 37 points in the Sparks' lone win, an 84-67 rout of Golden State. In the three games since, Los Angeles surrendered 89 points to both Minnesota and Phoenix before allowing the Valkyries 82 points.

"We missed some shots that we were expecting to make, and that affected our defense and we stopped [executing] the gameplan," said Sparks first-year coach Lynne Roberts. "We've got to put a full 40 minutes together. We haven't done it yet."

Although Los Angeles has yet to produce 40 quality minutes per its new coach's assessment, Plum has played a full 40 minutes twice early into this campaign. The most recent came in Wednesday's 89-86 loss to Phoenix.

Plum averages almost 38 minutes per game while Dearica Hamby logs 34.5 per game. Hamby is averaging 18.5 points and 8.3 rebounds per game as she holds down the interior while the Sparks await the 2025 debut of Cameron Brink, last year's No. 2 overall draft pick.

Brink was averaging more than two blocks per game when she sustained a torn ACL last June. Brink was part of a highly productive draft class that included Chicago's post presence, Angel Reese.

Reese has struggled through the first two games of her second WNBA season and the Sky (0-2) come into Los Angeles seeking their first win of 2025. Chicago dropped its opener 93-58 to Indiana on May 17 and followed up with a 99-74 blowout Thursday at home against reigning WNBA champion New York.

Although she grabbed 12 rebounds against the Liberty, Reese shot 0-of-8 from the floor and 2-of-6 at the free-throw line en route to a career-low two points. As a team, the Sky have committed 40 turnovers in their first two games.

"Offensively, we haven't found our groove yet," Chicago veteran guard Courtney Vandersloot said following Thursday's loss. "We're a little out of rhythm. We're trying to make plays, just making the wrong plays."

--Field Level Media