Minnesota Lynx vs LA Sparks Game Player Stats and Box Score for May 18 | 2025 WNBA season

The Minnesota Lynx vs LA Sparks matchup was one of two WNBA games scheduled on Sunday. Both teams were coming off victories in their season openers, and only squad could keep their winning ways going.

This past Friday, the Lynx defeated the Dallas Wings 99-84, spoiling the debut of top overall pick Paige Bueckers. That same day, the Sparks prevailed 84-67 over the Golden State Valkyries, who were playing their first regular season game as the newest expansion team in the league.

Both the Lynx and the Sparks, of course, have an ax to grind from last season as Minnesota fell short in the WNBA Finals while LA finished dead last in the standings.

On Sunday, it was the Lynx who came away with the win as they prevailed over the Sparks 89-75. Napheesa Collier led the way for the Lynx with 23 points, six rebounds, one assist and two steals. Alanna Smith added 18 points on 7-for-10 shooting while Courtney Williams had a double-double performance with 13 points and 10 assists.

Azura Stevens topscored for the Sparks with 21 points on 4-for-7 shooting from beyond the arc. As a team, though, LA struggled with their outside shooting, going 9-for-26 (34.6%) from three-point territory. The Sparks also lost the rebounding battle 34-29 while also committing more turnovers (11 compared to the Lynx's eight).

Minnesota Lynx vs LA Sparks Player Stats and Box Score

Lynx

Players	PTS	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PF	MIN	FG	3PT	FT	+/-
Karlie Samuelson	6	1	3	0	0	2	5	28:23	1-4	1-4	3-3	+10
Bridget Carleton	8	7	4	3	0	0	2	39:40	3-7	0-3	2-4	+11
Napheesa Collier	23	6	1	2	1	3	2	31:23	10-18	2-3	1-1	+16
Alanna Smith	18	3	3	0	2	1	3	16:51	7-10	4-7	0-0	+14
Courtney Williams	13	5	10	1	0	0	1	28:42	5-19	3-7	0-0	+13
Anastasiia Olairi Kosu	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0:19	0-0	0-0	0-0	0
Jessica Shepard	11	10	3	0	0	1	3	23:33	5-6	0-0	1-1	-1
Diamond Miller	2	0	0	0	0	0	1	5:35	0-2	0-0	2-2	-2
Natisha Hiedeman	8	1	3	0	0	0	2	12:42	3-5	0-1	2-2	+4
Marieme Badiane	0	1	0	1	0	1	2	3:30	0-0	0-0	0-0	-1

Sparks

Players	PTS	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PF	MIN	FG	3PT	FT	+/-
Dearica Hamby	20	10	2	0	0	2	3	34:58	6-11	1-2	7-10	-9
Rickea Jackson	8	3	1	0	0	3	1	23:02	4-11	0-3	0-0	-6
Azura Stevens	21	6	1	2	1	0	2	33:56	7-12	4-7	3-3	-14
Kelsey Plum	18	2	5	1	0	3	6	34:03	5-14	3-9	5-7	-14
Odyssey Sims	2	4	3	0	0	1	2	30:41	1-9	0-2	0-0	-12
Sarah Ashlee Barker	6	3	1	1	1	2	5	24:29	1-3	1-3	3-4	-3
Mercedes Russell	0	1	2	0	1	0	0	14:38	0-0	0-0	0-0	+3

Minnesota Lynx vs LA Sparks Game Summary

The first half was a close affair. Collier and Williams setting the tone offensively for the Lynx, while Stevens and Dearica Hamby held the fort for the Sparks. Minnesota led by five after the opening quarter, but after a low-scoring second quarter that went LA's way, the Lynx's lead was down to one right before the break.

In the second half, the Lynx tightened things up on the defensive end and limited the Sparks to a total of just 30 points. Meanwhile, the trio of Collier, Williams, and Smith kept pouring on the buckets for Minnesota, who managed to pull away in the fourth quarter and secure the 14-point win.