Kathy Goodman: I definitely prefer a blowout

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I know if I were a real basketball fan, I would like a “good” game — presumably one where the guards and posts match up well against one another, where the score goes back and forth, both teams play hard and clean, to their strengths, and it’s a nail biter to the very end. I guess I’m really just a Sparks fan because tonight’s game against the Minnesota Lynx confirmed that, at the end of the day, I really do like a blowout. Nothing against the Lynx. They were playing with a short bench, missing their star Seimone Augustus with a torn ACL. They had to start the season with a new coach when their old coach quit a week before the season started, and Jennifer Gillom has been wonderful. Candice Wiggins has been battling through some injuries herself, and Renee Montgomery had her share of doubters at the beginning of the season, but tonight they combined to score almost half of the Lynx points during the game (29 of 63 total points.)

All that having been said, the Sparks may have started slow, but by the beginning of the second half, they never looked back. And so instead of sitting in my seat, biting my fingernails and trying to do the math in my head as to how far back we would be if we didn’t hold on and win, I got to relax. I could spend the second half chatting with season-ticket holders and talking to sponsors and friends. I could look up at the scoreboard from time to time to confirm that we were not letting things slip away and then go back to enjoying myself. Maybe that’s not really basketball, but after the season so far, I thought I deserved a little time off!

We were playing the second game of our third back-to-back in two weeks. We needed this win if we really had any serious shot of contending in the post-season. We were one win behind the Lynx and so a victory would put us, at least for a moment (“If the season ended today ...”) in a playoff spot.

Naturally, the game opened with the Lynx scoring first followed by Candace Parker having her shot blocked, Lisa Leslie committing a foul and Kristi Harrower turning the ball over. I thought it was going to be a very long night. Then, after Noelle Quinn woke up the crowd with a beautiful three, Lisa scored the next eight points for the Sparks. By the end of the quarter, we had woken up and were leading by six.

My parents had been in town for the last several games but had to fly home this morning. Their plane was delayed, and so my mother sent me a text right as the second quarter began, asking for the score. “Looking good,” I texted back. “Sparks up 17-11 at the end of the first.” In the three minutes it took for her to receive the text and respond (“Great. Keep it up!”), the Lynx were up by three. They had started the second quarter on an 11-2 run that made our first-quarter score meaningless. I didn’t want a close game, like the Washington game. I wanted to get a lead, build on it and coast into the final minute. By the end of the second quarter, Tina Thompson, Quinn and Marie Ferdinand-Harris decided they had had enough, and they pushed the Sparks back into a tie with Minnesota.

I was glad we were tied at the half, but the dreaded third quarter awaited. Could we, just for once, come out of the locker room at half-time focused and ready and start the third quarter strong? According to Lisa Leslie, the answer was an emphatic yes. We went on a 16-3 run over the next 5 1/2 minutes, with baskets from Tina and Candace, but really by Lisa, who scored six in that initial run and ended the quarter with 12 points on 5-of-6 shooting. The Sparks outscored the Lynx 25-9 in that quarter and were winning 60-44. Now I was starting to relax.

The fourth quarter was just what I was hoping for since our home opener. A nice, relaxing blowout. The short bench of Minnesota took its toll, and the Sparks went on the attack. In the first five minutes of the period, Lisa scored another six points before finally leaving the game to a well-deserved standing ovation. The Sparks pushed their lead to 31 with four minutes left in the game, and then everything was on cruise control.

When I looked at the box score at the end of the game, it had the kind of stats I liked to see. We had 12 turnovers and 26 assists (Noelle Quinn earning a season-high seven, and the rest were distributed among our Olympians). How often had those stats been reversed for the Sparks? We had seven blocks (Candace had four of them). And Lisa had turned in a career performance — a season-high 28 points, making a season-high 13 of 15 baskets.

If you were a Lynx fan, it was a long night. For me, well, it was confirmed. I don’t need a close game. I definitely prefer a blowout.

-- Kathy Goodman

Goodman is co-owner of the Sparks.