The Los Angeles Sparks just can’t find a solid footing this season. Every time they start building momentum, it slips right through their fingers. And Monday night was no better. Their three-game winning streak came to a sharp halt as Kelsey Plum and Co. were outplayed in a 78-58 loss to the Golden State Valkyries. And if you ask their head coach, she’ll tell you exactly what went wrong.

“Defense is a choice, and we came out casual in the first quarter,” Lynne Roberts said in the post-game interview. “We were down 15, and we were playing catch-up the whole time. To me, that’s the story of the game. Whether that’s three-point defense or layups or whatever, all of it.”

As soon as the game kicked off, it wasn’t hard to tell the Sparks were struggling. They had to suffer a 10-25 run in the first quarter from the Valkyries, who exposed their defensive lapses and offensive struggles. But let’s be honest, considering Kelsey Plum entered this game fresh off her career-best 43-point performance against the Phoenix Mercury, there was still hope they could make a comeback.

However, throughout the night, they were only chasing a score that just went farther and farther away. Because the Valkyries played aggressively on both ends, shooting 51.5% in the first half, they built a comfortable cushion by halftime.

Although the Sparks did try to flip the script in the third quarter by outscoring Golden State 21-16, it was just not enough. The Valkyries regained full control of the game in the last 10 minutes and gave Los Angeles their seventh loss of the season.

The team scored its lowest points in the entire season so far. The LA team also shot a second-worst 33.3% from the floor. But it doesn’t end here.

But the part that stings the most for fans is how the night ended for Kelsey Plum. Being the lead scorer of the team, she scored only nine points in 29 minutes before she was sent out of the game in the fourth quarter as she committed 6 fouls.

Now, to make matters worse, Cameron Brink, who led the Sparks with 10 points, hurt her left ankle in the game and had to be helped off the floor on her way to the locker room.

“I haven’t seen her. I saw her in the locker room, but she’s getting evaluated right now,” the coach added.

With the Sparks already struggling to build consistency this season, any extended absence for Brink would only make things tougher for the team. And on a night where they were already outplayed from the opening quarter, it’s another setback that adds to a growing list of concerns for Los Angeles.

But Kelsey Plum and her teammates won’t have any time to sit and dwell on what happened here, because they are already focused on their next game. They will next face Minnesota at home on June 17.