In the End, Dixon Stars for Sparks
The Sparks are all of a sudden the scourge of the West. In a 24-hour period through Saturday night, every Western Conference team--yes, even the mighty Houston Comets--lost . . . except the Sparks.
Los Angeles (9-13) won its third game in a row Saturday, a wire-to-wire, 73-65 verdict over the Utah Starzz (7-15), and could make it four in a row when they play the Washington Mystics, the WNBA’s worst team, Monday night at the Great Western Forum.
Saturday’s victory came on a night in which new Spark Coach Orlando Woolridge used an old Pat Riley ploy and stuck with guard Tamecka Dixon through thick and thin.
An artful shot-creator who has struggled with her shot in recent weeks, there was Dixon again Saturday, before 8,375 in the Delta Center, still missing shots.
Late in the game, Dixon, a second-year pro from Kansas, was five for 19 from the floor. Here’s how bad it got: With 10 minutes to go, she was underneath with an uncontested shot. She threw up a bank shot that didn’t draw iron.
Woolridge spun around on the sideline, showing frustration, but he left her in.
And of course it was Dixon who saved the Sparks from some anxious closing moments. Los Angeles had led from the opening basket but a five-minute scoreless gap had allowed the Starzz to creep to within 65-61 with three minutes left.
Dixon then scored twice in 41 seconds, a 19-foot jump shot and a drive down the paint to give the Sparks a 69-61 lead.
The bad news was that seconds later Dixon came up lame with what was believed to be a strained left knee. Woolridge wasn’t buying the trainer’s preliminary report, though. He thought the injury might be more serious.
“I hope not, but I don’t know . . . it looks bad to me,” he said.
Woolridge said he never considered pulling Dixon, who was averaging 16.3 points per game.
“I’ll never forget the way Riley used John Starks with his [New York] Knick teams,” he said. “Starks could be one for 15 against you, you almost forgot about him, and he’d wind up with the shot that just kills you. I have the utmost confidence in Meek and she knows that. If she’s aggressive, attacking the basket, I can live with the misses.”
Aside from the five-minute scoreless stretch in the second half, the Sparks were up-tempo throughout for the second consecutive game. Defensive pressure was relentless, forcing 22 Utah turnovers.
On a night the Starzz could have used offensive help from 7-2 Margo Dydek, what with offensive threat Elena Baranova out with an injured foot, Dydek was in early foul trouble, played only 20 minutes and had only 11 points, six rebounds, and three blocks.
Lisa Leslie finished with 24 points, nine rebounds, and four blocks for the Sparks.
Said point guard Penny Toler: “The big difference in us is no one can say we’re standing around on offense anymore. “We’re showing a lot of movement, everyone’s moving in the offense now. We have a new energy level--that has a lot to do with it, and O [Woolridge] gets a lot of credit for it, I think.
“And the way he stayed with Tamecka tonight, we all picked up on that. Now the rest of us can feel we can play hard, make a couple of mistakes, and he’ll stick with us.”
SATURDAY’S OTHER GAMES
Cynthia Cooper, the WNBA’s leading scorer, was held to 16 points as the Houston Comets (20-2) had their 15-game winning streak stopped by the visiting Cleveland Rockers, 74-71, in overtime before 12,745 at Houston. Cleveland (13-9), up by 11 at halftime, was forced into overtime as Houston’s Sheryl Swoopes scored 16 of her 18 points in the second half. Cleveland’s Isabelle Fijalkowski, the WNBA’s top shooter at 54.5%, was eight of 10 from the floor, scored 19 points and grabbed nine rebounds, including three in overtime.
At Washington, with a crowd of 18,802 on hand, the New York Liberty (13-9) handed the expansion Mystics (2-19) their eighth straight loss, 67-53. Rebecca Lobo scored 13 points and three of her Liberty teammates had double figures.