Its crunch time for the Los Angeles Sparks of the WNBA.

The Sparks are currently in a tie with Phoenix and nine teams are battling for eight playoff spots. Seattle is on top, Atlanta is second and Minnesota is in third place.

The Sparks are knotted with Phoenix. Dallas and Washington were tied for fifth.

One of the reasons that the Sparks are in fourth place is that two of their best players, defensive specialist Alana Beard and All-Star forward Nneka Ogwumike, have not played in two weeks. Other teams know the Sparks are not at full strength so they push the ball up and down the court for three quarters, knowing that the Sparks may run out of gas in the final minutes.

If Beard and Ogwumike are still not available, Head Coach Brian Agler will have to trust his bench players. Maria Vadeeva, Karlie Samuelson, Sydney Wiese and Riquna Williams need to be ready when their number is called.