The Los Angeles Sparks and Golden State Valkyries look to keep their slim Commissioner’s Cup hopes alive when they go head-to-head in what amounts basically to an elimination game Monday night in San Francisco.

Both the Sparks (7-6, 3-2) and Valkyries (8-5, 3-2) begin the week chasing the Las Vegas Aces (5-0) and Minnesota Lynx (4-1) in their bids to represent the Western Conference in the in-season tournament finals. Each Western Conference team plays seven preliminary games in the event.

The Sparks stayed alive with a third straight win, a 111-102 overtime triumph on the road over the Phoenix Mercury on Saturday, a game in which Kelsey Plum exploded for 43 points.

“She just has a way,” Sparks coach Lynne Roberts said in a postgame interview. “She doesn’t get talked about enough in terms of what she’s doing this season and also the efficiency. But seven assists … I think that’s what separates her. It’s an unselfish 43.”

The Valkyries know all about Plum. She spoiled their curtain-raiser as an expansion franchise last May with 37 points in an 84-67 Sparks win in San Francisco.

Golden State got more than even by season’s end, however, beating the Sparks three consecutive times en route to a playoff spot Los Angeles failed to achieve. The California rivals have yet to meet this season.

Both teams feature a different look in the middle this year, with the Sparks having signed former Stanford star Nneka Ogwumike as a free agent, leaving the Valkyries to grab Kiah Stokes the next day in free agency.

Ogwumike is in her second tour of duty with the Sparks. She played 12 seasons in her first stint and won WNBA MVP honors in 2016.

The defensive-minded Stokes has helped the Valkyries lead the WNBA in opponents’ field goal percentage while also ranking near the top in points allowed and blocks. Stokes is tied for third in the league in blocks per game at 1.8.

She saved Golden State’s 76-72 win at Seattle on Friday night when, with the Valkyries up three, she blocked a Natisha Hiedeman 3-point attempt with about seven seconds remaining. It was Golden State’s second straight win.

“Putting in Kiah I thought was really important, because she didn’t get fazed by their plays,” Valkyries coach Natalie Nakase said of the key possession. “When we say we rely on our defense, that’s how we rely on our defense, and we close with our defense.”

–Field Level Media

Zach Johnson broke away from the pack to post a four-shot win in his home state, capturing the Principal Charity Classic title on Sunday in Des Moines, Iowa.

Playing his first season on the 50-and-older PGA Tour Champions, Johnson prevailed in his first start at Des Moines’ Wakonda Club as he followed Saturday’s round of 63 with a 5-under-par 67 to reach 17-under 199 for the week.

Richard Green of Australia (68) and Retief Goosen of South Africa (70) tied for second at 13 under.

Asked which emotions he was feeling after the win, Johnson answered, “Pure gratitude.”

“Given this week and all that it entails being back home, then literally in a place I used to live, I felt like I had already won before I teed off,” said Johnson, who attended Drake University in Des Moines and grew up two hours away in Cedar Rapids. “That honestly gave me a lot of freedom to just play. Hard to really encompass all the emotions in that regard, but a lot of peace. Like I said, a lot of gratitude, but excitement, too. This is why I play, I love competition.”

A co-leader with Brett Quigley and Australian Scott Hend entering the final round, Johnson shook off an opening bogey to roll in three birdies on the front nine. He went birdie-birdie-bogey-birdie at Nos. 12-15 to build a two-shot advantage.

After saving par at No. 16 and missing a birdie try at the par-3 17th, Johnson hit his tee shot at the short par-4 18th into a greenside bunker. But he finished with a flourish by playing a stellar second shot onto the green and sinking the ensuing birdie look.

“Today was a hard day. Today was trying,” said Johnson, who secured his second PGA Tour Champions victory. “Completely different wind for the most part, completely different wind. Not 180, but close. So managing your golf ball, your trajectory was imperative. For the most part I did that, I hit a lot of nice shots today. Feel like you left some out there, but I hit some good putts that didn’t go in, I hit some good putts that went in.

“It was course management and that’s usually where I flourish.”

Green put up the toughest challenge. He took the outright lead at the par-5 15th when he made his seventh birdie of the day, which moved him to 15 under while Johnson was three holes behind. But Green proceeded to bogey the next two holes.

“There was some good stuff. Just got a bit challenging towards the end for me, really,” Green said. “I had a really long putt for birdie on 16 and left it short and three-putted from just off the green, yeah, so that was a difficult hole. Then I made sort of a mess of 17 really as well into the wind, that probably cost me in the end.”

Quigley settled for an even-par 72 and tied for fourth at 12 under with Australian David Bransdon (71). Hend imploded almost immediately with back-to-back bogeys, a double bogey and a triple bogey during the first six holes. He posted a 5-over 77 to drop into a share of 22nd place at 7 under, 10 off Johnson’s winning score.

–Field Level Media

Ryan Kreidler’s RBI double with two outs in the bottom of the eighth inning made the difference for the Minnesota Twins in their 5-4 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals Sunday in Minneapolis.

The two-bagger off Cardinals reliever George Soriano (3-1) hit the wall in left center to cap a brief but successful day for the shortstop, who singled as a pinch-hitter in the seventh. Kriedler also made a diving play on a sharp grounder by Jose Fermin to start the ninth. Fermin initially was ruled safe, but that was overturned when the replay showed Kriedler’s throw beat Fermin by a half-step.

Byron Buxton enjoyed a 3-for-5 day while Kody Clemens and Josh Bell both went 2-for-4 for the Twins, who took the rubber match of the three-game series. Victor Caratini added a two-run homer.

Buxton and Royce Lewis hit RBI singles in the seventh to level the game for the Twins.

Andrew Morris (2-2) allowed just one hit in the eighth inning and struck out three to keep the game tied. Yoendrys Gomez pitched a perfect ninth for his sixth save.

JJ Wetherholt went 2-for-5 with a home run and three RBIs for the Cardinals. Nathan Church went 2-for-3 and scored a run, and Alec Burleson homered to extend his hitting streak to a career-high 14 games.

Burleson gave the Cardinals the early lead with his 13th home run, a solo shot off Twins starter Taj Bradley in the fourth. However, Caratini went deep off Michael McGreevy in the latter half of the inning to put Minnesota up 2-1.

Bradley lasted 6 2/3 innings. He struck out seven against five hits and a walk, but the Cardinals got to him for all four runs.

Wetherholt’s two-run homer in the sixth allowed St. Louis to reclaim the lead. After the Cardinals chased Bradley in the seventh with back-to-back two-out singles, Wetherholt singled off reliever Anthony Banda to give them a 4-2 lead.

McGreevy threw six innings, allowing just the two runs on Caratini’s homer. He gave up seven hits and two walks while striking out two. However, the bullpen could not secure his first victory since May 8.

Soriano struck out three in 1 2/3 innings, but he allowed three hits in addition to the go-ahead run.

–Field Level Media