Shot in Final Seconds Finishes Sparks, 76-74

Pam McGee tied the score with 42 seconds left, but the Sparks, trying mightily to send Sunday afternoon’s game at Washington into overtime, were beaten, 76-74, by a stumbling shot by the Mystics’ Adrienne Shuler with 3.8 seconds left.

The game-winning shot by Shuler, a 29-year-old assistant coach at South Carolina’s Furman University, snuffed a closing two-minute Los Angeles drive, extended the Sparks’ losing streak to three, and dropped their record to 10-16.

It also ended an 11-game losing streak for Washington (3-22), which drew an announced crowd of 18,923 to the MCI Center. Twenty-four hours earlier, the Sparks had lost to New York before a crowd of 18,014 at Madison Square Garden. The WNBA was to check today to see if the 36,937 was a back-to-back attendance record for a road team.

The Sparks had possession with 12 seconds remaining and the score tied, 74-74, but they botched an inbounds play and Jamila Wideman ended up being trapped at midcourt. A jump ball was called with 7.4 seconds left. Deborah Carter controlled the tip and the ball eventually wound up with Shuler, who scored her running shot as she was tripped by the Sparks’ Mwadi Mabika.

Nikki McCray led Washington with 21 points, including 15 in the second half on six-for-eight shooting. Lisa Leslie had 23 points and 16 rebounds for L.A.

The Sparks outrebounded Washington, 39-31, but shot just 40% to the Mystics’ 46%, including 58% in the second half. L.A. had four starters in double figures but only four points from their bench.