The Los Angeles Sparks current losing streak reached three games following their 82-66 loss to the Minnesota Lynx on Saturday. The loss was disappointing for two reason; the first being that the Sparks held a lead with a little over seven minutes to go, and the second being that the Lynx were without star forward Napheesa Collier. But even with the loss, Sparks star Dearica Hamby believes the team found something in terms of being able to have future success.

Following the Sparks’ loss to the Lynx, Dearica Hamby spoke about the team’s defense through the majority of the game and how that essentially laid the blueprint for how they need to play in order to get more wins.

“I’d say defensively we probably showed what we want our identity to be moving forward,” Hamby said. “We showed that we’re capable of playing hard and pressuring the ball, getting into peoples’ space. So that should be the way we should play for 40 minutes going forward.”

The Sparks forced 21 Lynx turnovers and overall were playing with intensity on the defensive end, at least until the fourth quarter. Following a Sarah Ashlee Barker three-point shot that put the Sparks up, 59-58, the Lynx rattled off ten straight points to take control of the game and never look back.

In what began as a season filled with new promise and increased expectations following the acquisition of star guard Kelsey Plum, the Sparks have struggled to find consistency amid a shuffling lineup. Alongside Plum, Hamby is one of the veteran leaders of a team that has suddenly found itself relying on young and inexperienced players.

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With the Sparks having two more games coming up quickly on this current road trip, Hamby’s main message for the young players is essentially to have short-term memory.

“You just kind of have to have short-term memory,” Hamby said. “We’ll go to sleep, we’ll wake up and like Coach [Roberts] said, we’ll be enthusiastic and encouraging. And not to say that the game before didn’t happen, but you can’t harp too long on the loss.”

It’s been a tough past couple of seasons record-wise for the Sparks, but one of the key constants for the team has been the veteran presence of Hamby. She made the All-Star team last season, and her play this season has been worthy of another selection.

Hamby has played in all 13 games for the Sparks this season, at a little over 32 minutes per game. She’s been averaging 16.8 points, 7.9 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 1.7 steals with splits of 51.6 percent shooting from the field, 28.6 percent shooting from the three-point line and 60.2 percent shooting from the free-throw line.