For Starters, West Is Easily Best

USC alumni ruled at Madison Square Garden Wednesday night.

Three Women of Troy, a Texas Techster and an Aussie.

That was the first winning starting lineup in WNBA All-Star game history, a group that started fast, then mustered a second-half energy surge that some attributed to five cheering soccer champions seated in Spike Lee seats at courtside--Mia Hamm, Brandi Chastain, Sara Whalen, Christie Pearce and Saskia Webber.

The Sparks’ Lisa Leslie--who won the game’s award for most valuable player--led the USC trio that also featured her 1994 college teammate, Tina Thompson (now of Houston) and 30-something Cynthia Cooper, of 1980s USC vintage (another Houston pro).

The Texas Techster was Houston’s Sheryl Swoopes and the Aussie was Michele Timms of Phoenix.

Those five put a 17-2 lead on the board with 14:07 left in the first half. The smaller East team twice cut into the big lead but never caught up, and the West put a 79-61 victory into the WNBA history books.

No surprise, really.

Two of those three USC alumni, the Comets’ Thompson and Cooper, are accustomed to winning. They’re two-time WNBA champions and have a 58-15 record over 2 1/2 seasons.

And no surprise that the West dominated the boards, with Swoopes, Thompson, Yolanda Griffith and Natalie Williams accounting for 26 of their team’s 48 rebounds to the East’s 36.

Williams had a game-high 14 points and shared the rebounding high with Swoopes at eight each. Leslie finished with 13 points and five rebounds.

The West starters’ opening burst featured a showtime series of fastbreaks that one East player said challenged their pride.

“When someone puts a 17-2 lead on the board against you, your pride is at stake, especially in a game when everyone you know is watching,” said Australian Sandy Brondello of Detroit.

“After that, we took the game a bit more seriously.”

Not for long.

The East cut its 25-10 deficit to a 31-29 gap before the West exploded again. This time, Sacramento’s 6-foot-4 Griffith was on the floor, starting a 10-0 run to end the half with two driving layups. Leslie scored twice in one minute, Thompson scored a 10-footer and Swoopes capped it with a midcourt steal and a layup with 18 seconds left in the half.

But that first run, the 17-2, was the winner, Utah’s Williams said.

“Our starters started the game like they were shot out of cannon,” she said.

“It set the tone we wanted to set. After the game went along, it went like I expected it to, with Lisa, Yolanda and I dominating inside.”

Much of the artistry shown in that 17-2 run evaporated quickly. The game was marred by sloppy passing throughout, contributing to 32 turnovers. The crowd fell out of the game the further the East dropped back.

The game’s three biggest ovations were accorded to New York’s Rebecca Lobo, out for the year because of a knee injury but voted onto the East team anyhow; Whitney Houston for a rousing rendition of the national anthem, and the first-half introduction of the U.S. soccer players.

Worst attempt of the night was Cynthia Cooper’s halftime half-court shot for $1 million. It was not only an air ball, it missed by eight feet.

No early TV ratings were available late Wednesday, but ESPN knew one thing--the Washington-area TV audience plummeted after Mystic rookie Chamique Holdsclaw’s 11 minutes in the first half. She suffered a chip fracture of her left index finger but said she wouldn’t miss any games.

Leslie said the West’s quest was a team effort, best exemplified by a play set up for Timms late in the game.

Every player in the game had scored to that point but Timms.

“Coach [Van] Chancellor said he wanted Timms to be in the history books with a basket too, so we set a play up for her,” Leslie said.

She scored a three-pointer with 43 seconds left, bringing the West players to their feet.

Leslie made a dunk, but hardly anyone noticed. It came on her last pregame layup.

How much for winning the MVP?

No cash. A glass Tiffany trophy.