Despite their home defeat to the Indiana Fever, Cameron Brink improved in the second game. The Los Angeles Sparks mounted a late push and outscored Indiana 26-19 in the final frame, but still fell to an 87-78 defeat. And while the direct, explosive offensive momentum in the fourth quarter came from the perimeter, Cameron Brink did contribute to the defensive aspect of things in that stretch of the game.

Speaking on her role in that comeback and the game in general, Brink reflected heavily on the defensive side of her performance. “I’m a defensive minded player, so I feel like that’s what gets me going,” Brink said. “If I’m super locked in and just loud and talking on defense, I feel like that can fuel the team. But yeah, I’m really proud of the way we fought back today, and we’re going to do better.”

Speaking of her defensive impact, Cameron Brink did end the game with three blocks, five rebounds, and a steal. She led the team in rim protection and, most notably, pulled off an electric block on Caitlin Clark in the first quarter that heavily energized the home crowd. Aside from the defensive side, she also had quite a contribution in the attacking part of the game with 11 points scored and an assist.

Although, it wouldn’t really be appropriate to say it was her best performance. But it was a significant improvement from the last game, in which she had no points, alongside a disappointing three turnovers and three fouls in the eight minutes she played. Her performance even had coach Lynne Roberts saying, “We need Cam to produce. We need Cam to bring that defensive energy.” 

Cameron Brink herself, in this Fever game postgame interview, acknowledged the slow start she had. But she’s clearly building confidence. “You always got to be confident, right? I, you know, my teammates aren’t going to trust me if I don’t believe in myself. Coaches, same thing. So, you know, I’ve had a slow start, but I’m putting in the work.”

Since it’s just two games into the season and only one bad game, it doesn’t seem as serious as it might appear. As coach Lynne Roberts also said, “She didn’t have a slow start. We played two games, and she had a great game today.” And maybe the same thing also goes for the team. Of course, they’ve started the season with two losses, but there’s still a lot to play for. They will simply hope to turn the tide in their next game against the Toronto Tempos.

Cameron Brink Aims to Match Kelsey Plum’s Work Ethic as Bright Spot

Even though the Los Angeles Sparks have now opened the season with back-to-back losses, one thing that has remained consistent for the team so far has been Kelsey Plum’s impact. Through both defeats, Plum has looked like the Sparks’ most reliable offensive engine and arguably the biggest bright spot in an otherwise difficult start to the season.

Against the Indiana Fever, Plum once again carried a massive offensive responsibility, finishing with 25 points and four assists. And it clearly was not something her teammates overlooked either. Speaking after the game, Cameron Brink openly acknowledged Plum’s performance and expressed the desire to adopt her work ethic. “I’m trying to work as hard as KP over here and just going to keep growing,” Brinks said.

Interestingly, Brink was not even the first Sparks player to publicly point toward Plum’s standout performance after a loss. Following the season opener against the Las Vegas Aces, veteran forward Nneka Ogwumike also made a similar comment while reacting to the team’s loss. “I want to be on what KP is on. Y’all saw what she was doing in that second half, mostly that fourth quarter. Like, that is what needs to be happening from top to bottom,” she said. Plum logged 27 points, four rebounds, and two assists in that game.

Hopefully, the team starts adopting the Kelsey Plum way, as Nneka Ogwumike hinted. Because even though two losses are not all that alarming this early in the season, if things are not corrected on time, those two losses can quickly become three, four, and that’s usually how an entire season starts slipping away.