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Sparks Send First Place Silver Stars a Message
Posted Sunday, August 31, 2008
 The San Antonio Silver Stars probably wish LA's Candace Parker had not found her contact lens as the rookie ended the evening with 17 points and 15 rebounds. Photo by Donald Barnat |
LOS ANGELES - The Los Angeles Sparks left their hearts, and the San Antonio Silver Stars, on the battlefield Saturday night after a grinder of a contest in which the winning team had a total of just 35 points after three quarters of play.
LA rallied in the final period, outscoring San Antonio 23-12, to lock away a 58-53 win against a team they now trail in the WNBA’s Western Conference by only two games.
Both teams shot near 30 percent in the first half with only the Sparks’ Candace Parker playing well before the break. The rookie sensation from Tennessee, playing in front of her former coach Pat Summitt and a host of Volunteer fans decked out in orange, missed a first half double-double by only one rebound, finishing the half with 11 points to go with her nine boards.
“We weren't shooting well overall and when I looked up at the score at halftime it was really low, and that is unusual for us,” Parker said. “ We knew we had to pull it out...”
Down by two at the half, 25-23, San Antonio overtook the Sparks in the third period, and built their lead to six by the end of the quarter, outscoring LA 18-10. Guard Becky Hammon and center Ann Wauters both came alive in the period, putting up seven points each.
But Parker, rookie point guard Shannon Bobbitt, and Lisa Leslie combined for 20 fourth-quarter points in a period that contained more electric moments than any stretch of basketball played by the Sparks at home in recent memory.
The crowd of near 10,000 fans were brought to their feet many times as the two largest Sparks, and the smallest, put on an exhibition of gritty clutch basketball in the context of a outstanding stretch of solid team defense.
“Defense wins games, and though we did not have a great offensive game, we brought it in at the end and capitalized on the win,” Sparks head coach Michael Cooper said. “[The players] believe in our defense now, and that’s half the battle. If they believe in it they will continue to do it and commit to it.”
Cooper’s counterpart, Silver Stars head coach Dan Hughes, noted the defensive effort of both teams.
“I think both teams performed really well and … points were hard to come by," he said. "It was a real defensive battle.”
Parker finished the game with an impressive 17 points and 15 rebounds, but elder stateswoman teammate Lisa Leslie put up an equally impressive 18 points and 12 rebounds.
Hammon finished with 17 points with a game-high seven assists while teammate Wauters added 13 points for the visitors.
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