One of the largest (non-Camp Day) crowds at the Target Center came to see Candace and help send off Seimone and the other Olympians. The game had the feel and intensity of a playoff game and the Sparks prevailed in OT.

The big 3 for the Sparks stepped up - Parker had 20 by halftime, both she and Leslie finished with 23 and DMJ added 18. For Coach Z, that was the difference - "They have three Olympians, we have one, [and] our second-leading scorer [Candice Wiggins] was out."

The Lynx did have Charde Houston back, and it helped as she took some of the scoring load. Seimone surpassed 2,000 career points and finished with 29 points.

But as well as the Lynx did to close the gap to force overtime, the fact that they went scoreless and did not secure the win did not sit well with the players. "It will be difficult to not think about this one,'' said Vanessa Hayden-Johnson.

The sour taste of the loss was at least temporarily put on a hold for the post game celebration for Seimone, Candace, Lisa and DeLisha. One of the local sports anchors interviewed the players, who were presented with flowers from young fans at the game. Candice Wiggins spoke on behalf her team for Seimone and Lisa's daugther, Lauren, tried to make a new friend with Vanessa's daughter, Zyon.