LOS ANGELES >> Facing one of the WNBA’s best teams in the first game after the Olympic break was not a recipe for the struggling Sparks to begin building momentum.

The Sparks trailed by 19 after one quarter and by as many as 40 points in the second half on their way to a 103-68 blowout loss to the New York Liberty on Thursday night at Crypto.com Arena.

“I think that should bother them,” Sparks coach Curt Miller said. “I definitely think that on your home court, to be embarrassed like that, they have to come back with more pride. That’s disappointing individually for all of us, players and coaches. But also, this is a franchise with rich tradition. This doesn’t happen to the Sparks on the Sparks’ homecourt. My hope is that it bothers them but we’ve got to move on.”

The Sparks followed the monthlong Olympic hiatus with their largest losing margin of the season and their second-lowest point total through the first 25 games.

Rae Burrell led the Sparks (6-19) with a team-high 15 points off the bench, going 12 of 13 from the free-throw line.

“We need that aggression so I just try to bring that,” Burrell said when asked attempting so many free throws.

Dearica Hamby had 14 points and 13 rebounds for her 14th double-double of the season and the 40th of her career, and rookie forward Rickea Jackson had 14 points. Kia Nurse added 10 points.

“This isn’t what we expected but at the same time, we did it to ourselves so we just have to come out with a more focused mind on both ends of the court next game,” Jackson said.

“I don’t know. We just gotta do better,” Jackson later added when directly asked about the 35-point defeat.

Breanna Stewart led the Liberty (22-4) with 27 points in 20 minutes, shooting 10 for 15 from the field (3 for 4 from 3-point range). Sabrina Ionescu had 18 points and six assists and Kayla Thornton added 16. Stewart and Ionescu combined to score 26 points in the first half, while the Sparks had just 28.

The Liberty began the game on a 10-0 run, sparked by five early points from All-Star Jonquel Jones. The Sparks missed their first four shots from the field and things the game got out of hand in a hurry. A buzzer-beating 3-pointer by Thornton put the Liberty up 29-10 at the end of the first quarter.

The Liberty began the second quarter on a 9-0 run and extended their lead to 38-10 with eight minutes left in the first half.

“That 10-0 run, that 9-0 run to start quarters, we just didn’t step back up to the first punch thrown,” Miller said after the game.

The Sparks only made 10 of 26 shots from the field (38.5%) in the first half, including an 0-for-5 effort from 3-point range, and trailed 57-28 at halftime. They also had 14 turnovers on nine steals by the Liberty in the first 20 minutes. The Liberty shot 22 for 37 (59.5%) in the first half, including 6 for 12 from behind the arc.

“They showed tonight why they’re in first place,” Miller added. “They can have games like this.”