Kia Nurse offered words of encouragement to her Sparks teammate Cameron Brink.

The veteran guard knows exactly what the rookie is going through, having torn her ACL in 2021. Brink tore the ACL in her left knee in Tuesday’s loss to Connecticut. She’s still talking to doctors to figure out when she’ll have surgery, coach Curt Miller said after the team’s shootaround Thursday before a game against New York, a 93-80 loss.

“What happened to Cam was unfortunate and I’ve been there, I feel for her,” Nurse said. “We’ve got her in our hearts and prayers as she goes through this. She’ll be around us when she can be.”

Nurse said she’s talked to Brink a few times already and offered to be a sounding board for questions that the 22-year-old center from Stanford may have.

“I know the ACL process is very different for each and every person that goes through it,” Nurse said. “There were some commonalities that I was grateful to have other people tell me about before surgery. I’m here with her and supporting her. There are a lot of emotions that go through it. You literally go through a wave of emotions for about a year straight.”

Brink’s rookie season ended after 15 games and she was averaging 8.1 points, 5.7 rebounds and 2.5 blocks. Miller said her value to the Sparks went well beyond her stats.

“The thing you hear first and foremost from our players is they are going to miss the positivity,” he said. “They are going to miss the presence she brought on a daily basis that allowed us to smile. She was a sponge and remarkable being able to be very conscious that she needed to learn a lot more and was willing to grow.”

Brink flew back to Los Angeles. She wrote in a post on Instagram on Wednesday her thoughts on the injury.

“You never think it will happen to you. And despite all the hard work sometimes it does,” she said. “This is hard to fathom but I know it will only make me stronger,” Brink said. “I will not be derailed and I will continue to love this life — I’m not defined by basketball, but it is something that I love deeply and I will work everyday to get back to it. It’s not goodbye basketball it’s just a see you later. I’m always so thankful for your thoughts and prayers.”

Brink is on the U.S. 3x3 team for the Paris Olympics and a replacement will have to be selected.

Aces sell out season

The Las Vegas Aces became the first WNBA team to sell out every home game in a season when the final tickets were claimed Thursday for a Sept. 3 matchup against Angel Reese and the Chicago Sky.

That game is one of two scheduled for T-Mobile Arena, which is bigger than the Aces’ usual home venue. The Aces will play Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever there on July 2.

The other 18 home games for the two-time defending champions are at Michelob Ultra Arena.

Las Vegas in March also became the first team to ever sell out its allotment of season tickets, leaving only individual game tickets available.

The Aces set a team attendance record for Michelob Ultra Arena when 10,424 people showed up for Saturday’s WNBA Finals rematch with New York, which the Liberty won 90-82.

Las Vegas set a franchise home record when 17,406 watched the Aces beat the Phoenix Mercury 100-85 last season at T-Mobile Arena.

The Aces led the WNBA in attendance last season when they averaged 9,551 fans. They are averaging 10,379 this season, fourth in the league through Wednesday’s games.

The Fever lead the WNBA with a 16,757 average, breaking their total attendance mark from last year just five games into the season.

Their rise in attendance comes at a time the league is receiving attention like never before it in its 28-year history. The overall league attendance average is 9,195, which is on pace for the highest in 22 years.

LIBERTY 93, SPARKS 80 >> Sabrina Ionescu scored 31 points and Jonquel Jones added 22 Thursday night. New York (13-3) and the Sparks (4-12) — who got 15 points from Aari McDonald — play again today.