LOS ANGELES — The Sparks put an extra emphasis on improving their defense during several practices ahead of Tuesday night’s home game against the Phoenix Mercury.

“You have to compete,” first-year Sparks coach Lynne Roberts said. “It comes down to who wants to win more at this point in the season. It’s execution but it’s also a toughness of we’re not going to quit, we’re not going to go away, and I think that’s what it takes to win when you’re in a (playoff) hunt.”

With nine games remaining in the regular season, the Sparks (17-18) remain on the outside looking in for the WNBA’s eighth and final playoff spot, though they have two games in hand on the two teams directly ahead of them: Golden State (19-18) and Indiana (19-18).

“I think at this point teams are who they are,” Roberts said.

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