Woolridge Makes Sure Sparks Fly

The Sparks moved along to round two in the WNBA playoffs, but it took a towering halftime rage by their towering coach, 6-foot-9 Orlando Woolridge, to get them there.

Outplayed and outhustled Tuesday in the first half and down 11 points at the break against a team missing perhaps the league’s best player, the Sparks stitched together a withering second-half onslaught that defeated Sacramento, 71-58, before 8,569 at the Great Western Forum.

The Sparks advanced to the best-of-three Western Conference finals, beginning Thursday at the Forum against two-time WNBA champion Houston. The second game is at Houston on Sunday and a final game, if needed, will also be at the Compaq Center, on Monday.

In the aftermath Tuesday, players and hallway ushers agreed Woolridge raised the bar on all previous halftime decibel readings. At the postgame news conference, his voice was nearly gone.

“We’re used to O screaming at us, because we’ve had some bad first halfs before,” said Penny Toler.

“But he really got on us this time. He told us he could live with us playing well and losing, but not being outhustled.”

Said Allison Feaster: “He woke us up. He didn’t talk to us in a mean, degrading way, but he got very emotional, very forceful. He got us going--the way we played in that second half is going to win us a championship.”

The way things were going for the Sparks before halftime, it seemed a likely bet a Sacramento-Houston conference final was in the cards, and that the Sparks would be clearing out their lockers today.

The Monarchs, playing without Yolanda Griffith, forced nine first-half turnovers, repeatedly slapped the ball out of Spark hands and shot 40% while the Sparks, who couldn’t seem to manage the shot clock at all, shot 26%. The Monarchs led, 32-21, at halftime.

Lisa Leslie, DeLisha Milton, La’Keshia Frett and Gordana Grubin were a combined 7-for-28 shooting for the Sparks.

Sacramento, which seemingly got every loose ball and every lucky bounce in the first half, quickly lost its way.

Point guard Ticha Peneichero went down after taking a knee from Leslie on her thigh in the last minute of the first half. Then her backup, Kedra Holland-Corn, sprained an ankle diving out of bounds early in the second half.

Just like that, three starters--including Griffith--were out.

Peneichero, the WNBA assist leader, tried to come back, but couldn’t. Holland-Corn never did come back.

“Like to have played ‘em with my whole team,” Sacramento Coach Sonny Allen said. “We played great in the first half, but we started having problems when Ticha couldn’t go in the second half. Then Lisa and (Gordana) Grubin hit some big shots against us.”

Leslie, who finished with a game-high 22 points and 12 rebounds, took over the boards in the second half. When the game turned, she and Grubin turned it. They triggered a 30-10 run that lifted the Sparks into a 51-42 lead with 9:50 left.

Grubin brought the noisy crowd to its feet for the first time with a three-pointer, followed by a steal and a great assist to a driving Mwadi Mabika, who also had three key second-half steals.

Then Leslie scored on four offive possessions.

With 5:38 left, Sacramento’s Lady Hardman came down the paint on a drive and Leslie made a leaping block. She then thrust her index finger in the air and struck a pose.

DeLisha Milton (10 points, seven rebounds, five blocks) also gave an assist to the coach.

“He challenged us,” she said. “He told us they were waxing the floor with us.”

And what of Houston?

“I feel good about playing Houston,” Woolridge said.