Sparks Rebound in a Big Way, 73-69

When the Sparks arrived at their hotel midday Saturday after arriving from New York, word was passed: “Mandatory meeting in O’s room.”

“O” is Orlando Woolridge, the Spark coach, steamed over a poor defensive effort the previous night at Madison Square Garden, where Los Angeles was beaten.

“Basically, O said that beginning tonight, everyone’s minutes from here on out would depend on the effort he saw tonight,” said guard Allison Feaster, who also learned in the meeting she’d been bumped from the starting lineup in favor of Mwadi Mabika.

Woolridge himself would only call the meeting a “powwow.”

Then, a few hours later, at the Charlotte Coliseum . . . Pow!

The Sparks, led by a defensive performance by rookie point guard Ukari Figgs, beat the Charlotte Sting, 73-69, before 6,116.

Figgs, the 5-foot-9 speedster who helped Purdue win the NCAA championship in March, was assigned to guard 5-6 Dawn Staley, who helped the 1996 Olympic team win the gold medal.

You sensed almost a changing of the guard. The tenacious Figgs, 22, barely gave Staley, 29, room to launch her three-point shots, score on drives or pass to teammates.

With 17 minutes left in the game, Staley had no points. She finished with four in 36 minutes, after averaging 15 in the Sting’s first two games.

Figgs had 12 points and was two for three from three-point range.

“I just tried to stay tight with her when she came over midcourt, make sure she didn’t penetrate and not give her any room to shoot from the outside,” Figgs said. “She’s a great guard. I’m tired, yeah.”

Lisa Leslie led the Sparks with 15 points and seven rebounds, but the game’s most productive offensive player was Figgs’ ex-Purdue teammate, Stephanie McCarty, who came off the bench to score 18 for the Sting. Twice briefly in the second half, the two guarded each other.

The Sparks (3-2) led, 35-25, at halftime and increased the lead to 60-46 with 9:08 remaining.

Then Charlotte (1-2) launched a rally, closing to 71-69 with 21 seconds left after a running jump shot by McCarty. But Figgs made two free throws with 18 seconds left to secure the victory.

The players credited Woolridge’s hotel oratory for the heightened effort.

“He [Woolridge] was absolutely right to talk to us that way,” Milton said.

“Sometimes the truth hurts when your boss talks to you, and you don’t like it, but you know he’s right.”

Feaster was left with the challenge of getting her starting job back.

“I think it’s great that Mwadi was rewarded and got to start,” Feaster said. “But who’s to say I won’t get it back?”