LOS ANGELES — In her first game back after testing positive for COVID-19 and clearing health and safety protocols, Sparks guard Brittney Sykes scored 12 of her 16 points in the first half, but the Sparks lost to the Washington Mystics, 94-81, on Tuesday night at Crypto.com Arena.

“Life came at me pretty fast,” Sykes said when asked about being sidelined for the previous four games. “I wanted to be with my teammates. I know how much we put in that work in the gym and one person goes down as you can see, it’s almost like a domino effect.”

Brittney Sykes talks about how bad she wanted to play after being sidelined for four games after tested positive for COVID before the Dallas Wings game on July 1. @BrittBundlez dropped 16 points in 24 minutes off the bench against the Washington Mystics. pic.twitter.com/B8FAJjTAsI

— John W. Davis (@johnwdavis) July 13, 2022

Sparks forward Nneka Ogwumike, who is averaging 18.4 points and 7.1 rebounds per game this season, did not play against the Mystics due to a non-COVID-related illness. Interim head coach Fred Williams said she is day-to-day.

“I think Nneka is our engine,” said Sparks forward Chiney Ogwumike, who had a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds, as she replaced her older sister Nneka in the starting lineup. “She’s a silent killer and her IQ is super high, so I think without her sort of that comfort zone that we’ve been in for a long time, sort of was a little disrupted. But I do think it was a good experience for everyone to value what we have so that when we do have her, we don’t take for granted how hard and how well she plays.”

Chiney Ogwumike breaks down why Nneka Ogwumike is so important to the Los Angeles Sparks. @chiney @nnekaogwumike #WNBATwitter pic.twitter.com/Tmd3U5jvgU

— John W. Davis (@johnwdavis) July 13, 2022

Two-time WNBA MVP Elena Delle Donne led the Mystics with 26 points in 27 minutes, and Mystics guard Natasha Cloud had 21 points and nine assists.

The Sparks (10-13) trailed 53-44 at halftime but began the third quarter on a 4-0 run, while at the same time turning up their defensive intensity and forcing a 24-second shot clock violation to pull within 53-47.

However, the Mystics (15-10) responded and extended their lead to 69-60 heading into the fourth quarter before pulling away by nearly 20 points in the final minutes.

Meanwhile, both Sykes and Sparks guard Kristi Toliver came off the bench and played more than 20 minutes against the Mystics after being activated from the injury report. Toliver scored 11 of her 12 points in the fourth quarter.

“I just have to go with (who) we have that are healthy and ready to go for us,” Williams said. “It’s a learning experience for us. Some of the young ones that get a lot of minutes right now, so that’s good for us, but what’s bad for us sometimes is we don’t have all the team together that’s when it kind of throws our rhythm off.”

Meanwhile, Mystics coach Mike Thibault said he wanted to be able to match up against Sparks center Liz Cambage and prevent the 6-foot-9 post player from getting second-chance shots while limiting her free-throw attempts.

Cambage finished with eight points, three rebounds and three assists in 25 minutes. She was 2 for 4 at the free-throw line.

“I think in general, we’ve known how to help on her (and) when to do it,” Thibault shared in a pregame interview. “The other thing is you have to make Liz play on both ends of the court, make her work on the defensive end.”

Sparks forward Katie Lou Samuelson had 16 points.

Williams believes there was a lesson to learn by playing without Nneka Ogwumike, who he hopes will return for the next game when the Sparks host Candace Parker and the Chicago Sky on Thursday at 7:30 p.m.

“They learned that we cannot have turnovers that convert into points at the other end, especially if you have a player that is capable of double-doubles like Nneka,” Williams continued. “We pretty much gave some points away just by errant passes and that’s just a little mental mistake.”

Sparks interim coach Fred Williams shares an update on Nneka Ogwumike, who missed Tuesday’s game with a non-COVID related illness and then explains what he believes his team learned by playing without Nneka against the Washington Mystics. @CoachFredW #WNBATwitter pic.twitter.com/NgQbxTSyAT

— John W. Davis (@johnwdavis) July 13, 2022

I’m breaking down the Mystics at Sparks game. Washington wins 94-81, powered by 26 points by Elena Delle Donne. But even at 10-13, the Sparks are still encouraged about their playoff chances, especially when Brittney Sykes & Katie Lou Samuelson each score 16 points. #WNBATwitter pic.twitter.com/Mpl8uCuNxh

— John W. Davis (@johnwdavis) July 13, 2022

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