The Los Angeles Sparks are on the verge of a dubious franchise record.

Nearing the end of the worst season in team history, Los Angeles hopes to avoid clinching a club mark for fewest wins in a season when it visits the Seattle Storm on Friday.

The Sparks (10-22), two-time league champions and one of the WNBA's most successful franchises, lost 84-77 in overtime to San Antonio on Tuesday. The defeat was the club's 16th in 19 games and leaves the Sparks needing to win Friday and Sunday against Houston just to match their previous low for wins from 1998. They finished 12-18 that year, the last time they missed the postseason.

Los Angeles was a Western Conference-best 25-9 and reached the conference finals in 2006, but with star center Lisa Leslie out for the season after the birth of her first child and the abrupt retirement of Chamique Holdsclaw in June, the team will finish 2007 with the most losses and worst record in club history.

On Tuesday, Christi Thomas scored 18 points and had a career-high 13 rebounds for the Sparks, who outscored San Antonio 13-8 in the fourth quarter to force overtime. Los Angeles, though, shot 37.5 percent for the game, worse than their Western Conference-low 40.8 season percentage.

"It seems like that's how the games go for us,'' said Thomas, averaging 8.9 points per game and 13.5 in her last six contests. "We work really hard and then we lose by a few or go into overtime and end up losing.''

Trying to avoid setting a team record for fewest wins could be a major challenge for Los Angeles with Seattle in the way. The Storm (16-17), who have clinched the fourth and final playoff spot in the West, will look to sweep the Sparks for the first time as they close out their four-game season series.

Lauren Jackson scored 18 points in Seattle's 81-67 home win over Minnesota on Tuesday. The Storm overcame 20 turnovers by shooting 44.6 percent from the field for their second straight victory.

"Regardless of the way we won the game, we still won,'' said Jackson, averaging 23.6 points and battling Minnesota's Seimone Augustus for the league scoring title. "It's good to know we can win games where we play so terribly."

Jackson, an MVP candidate who also leads the league with 9.5 rebounds per game, is averaging 25.3 points in three games against Los Angeles this season.

Los Angeles leads Seattle 14-13 in the all-time series.