LOS ANGELES, CA – The Los Angeles Sparks looked dead in the water after an ugly loss last Thursday night at the hands of the first place Connecticut Sun. With the season quickly winding down, and the team barely hanging on for the final playoff spot, it looked as though their season could be done.
After the Washington Mystics (12-18) beat the Chicago Sky earlier in the day, to give them a 1.5 game lead over LA for the eighth seed, the Sparks had a daunting task of trying to beat the defending champion Seattle Storm in order to keep their playoff hopes alive.
(Courtesy of WNBA)
The Sparks (11-19) jumped all over the short-handed Storm from the start playing with more energy, intensity, and determination, looking like a much different team than the one that got routed by the Sun two nights earlier.
While Seattle (20-11) was without their superstar Breanna Stewart (foot) or guard Jordin Canada (knee), their other stars Sue Bird and Jewell Loyd also had forgettable performances combining for just 8 points on 3/16 shooting. The Sparks completely outclassed the Storm leading by as many as 30 in their final home game of the season and blowing them out in an 81-53 win, pulling within a game of Washington, and putting on a show for their fans.
Erica Wheeler’s ankle-breaking crossover sent Bird, the four-time champion and five-time gold medalist, staggering to the floor and sent Staples Center and Twitter in a frenzy. Even Te’a Cooper had a memorable night finishing with a game-high 19 points and broke some ankles herself late in the game.
The question is how did the Sparks have a complete 180 in a span of 48 hours?
One of the reasons was the help of a special 14-year-old girl named Zaila Avant-Garde, who’s become an overnight sensation recently winning the Scripps Spelling Bee this year and holding three basketball-related records in the Guinness World Book of Records. Not bad for an eighth-grader right?
Avant-Garde spent some time with the team over the past few days even serving as the Sparks’ honorary COO in the final home game. She is also an avid hoops fan and wants the opportunity to play in the WNBA one day.
Head coach Derek Fisher spoke about the impact Avant-Garde had on the team with her presence and what she represents.
“When you are blessed to have the opportunity to do something professionally the way our players are, and you have brilliant young ladies like Ms. Zaila that aspires to have this opportunity one day, I just think it was a reminder for our players that you don’t have the right to go out and not just leave it all out there every time you get a chance,” Fisher said. “Who cares if you fail or not, you don’t get to hold anything back for fear of failure. I truly believe her presence made a difference for our team to put what we do in perspective.”
Forward Brittney Sykes had a big night with a double-double of 15 points and 10 rebounds, while defensively locking up the All-Star and gold-medalist Loyd and holding her to 5 points on 2/9 shooting. She continued her strong case for Defensive Player of the Year and also drew some simple wisdom from Avant-Garde.
“She gave us words of wisdom in the huddle during shootaround, she gave us words of wisdom before we went to the final huddle to go to the court,” Sykes recalled. “All it was, was to have fun, play smart. Simple things, things that you can forget as you get older, because everything becomes so serious, but seeing it through her eyes, she really said have fun, go out and play hard, and win the game.”
Those simple messages from an ambitious and intelligent young person like Avant-Garde helped this Sparks team loosen up and remind them that this is a game. Yes, winning is important, but it’s also about playing with a great effort every night and leaving everything on that floor.
Even with a huge win, the Sparks can’t really control their playoff destiny, but they can control their effort and energy over these last two road games. If things get difficult again, they must remember that little advice from a former champion like Avant-Garde, because it could be a really big help in this fight toward the playoffs.
