Sparks Have Enough in Reserve to Win

It was the locker room of the exhausted.

And the victors.

It wasn’t pretty but the Sparks, to use the word their coach used, “gutted” it out in the stretch to beat Phoenix Wednesday, 67-61, for their sixth consecutive victory before 11,366 at America West Arena.

For the 12th consecutive game, the Sparks (9-4) started slowly and never really got in gear until the final eight minutes, after the Mercury (3-8) had made its last surge, going ahead 50-48, with 8:16 left.

Maybe Phoenix missed its coach.

Cheryl Miller tore her right Achilles’ tendon at practice Tuesday, had surgery that afternoon, and watched the game from home.

It was a rugged, physical game that got out of control shortly after halftime. Two flagrant fouls were called. Spark Coach Orlando Woolridge, after watching his team get whistled for the first seven fouls of the second half, erupted and was assessed a technical foul with 6:08 left.

Bridget Pettis made the free throw, but Phoenix needed much more.

The Sparks got help off the bench from La’Keshia Frett, who had a season-high 13 points, on six-for-nine shooting, and seven rebounds in 25 minutes. Mwadi Mabika led the Sparks with 16 points.

Frett said afterward she felt as if she were back in the now-defunct ABL. The 6-foot-2 former Philadelphia Rage forward helped guard Edna Campbell (Colorado Xplosion) and Clarissa Davis-Wrightsil (Long Beach StingRays and San Jose Lasers), who combined for only 12 points.

“It’s just a matter of getting minutes, getting my legs under me,” she said. “Once you’re out there long enough, you get into the flow of the game.”

Woolridge will go back to the drawing board to design something to get his team out of the blocks faster.

“Part of it was we were tired tonight,” Woolridge said, pointing to all 11 of his players, seated on their stools, talking quietly, not at all looking like athletes who had gained a franchise-record sixth consecutive victory.

The Sparks had a lead for nearly all the first half and had a 28-22 lead at intermission. But when Campbell and Timms scored twice to start the second half, making it 28-26, the crowd, for the first time, created a din.

Phoenix got its first lead since the early minutes, 35-33, on a Jennifer Gillom (game-high 17 points) shot from inside. Gordana Grubin got it back for the Sparks with a drive down the paint, but Marlies Askamp, with 9:21 to go, gave Phoenix a 45-44 lead.

Phoenix led twice more, the last time at 50-48.

“I think the difference might have been our using two big players, Mwadi and La’Keshia, on their guards, Timms and [Kristi] Harrower,” Woolridge said.

“Those were mismatches for us.”