Sparks Lose Late Lead, Game
The almost always smiling DeLisha Milton sat on her locker-room stool, frowning. Next to her, teammate Lisa Leslie wore a blank look, as if not yet willing to contemplate defeat.
But a defeat, their first in 2000, it was. The Sparks, gunning for a 5-0 start to their WNBA season, ran out of gas in the final minutes before 8,160 at Sacramento’s Arco Arena on Sunday afternoon, frittering away an eight-point lead and losing to the Monarchs, 75-68.
The game was less than 24 hours after the Sparks’ victory over Phoenix at the Great Western Forum on Saturday afternoon--and even Sacramento Coach Sonny Allen said the difference was tired legs.
“I think we lost our legs near the end,” Leslie said.
“All of a sudden all my shots were coming up short. Usually, that means you’ve lost your legs. Then Ruthie [Bolton-Holifield] went crazy and that was that.”
Interjected Milton: “We give them credit--but they caught us on a back-to-back day. We’ll get another chance.”
In a game featuring four U.S. Olympic team members--the Sparks’ Leslie and Milton; the Monarchs’ Bolton-Holifield and Yolanda Griffith--the 33-year-old Bolton-Holifield, bad knees and all, provided the difference.
She had 17 points, 15 of them in the final 5:31. When she nailed a three-point shot with four minutes left, it gave Sacramento (3-3) a 62-61 lead. The Sparks (4-1) pulled even with a Leslie free throw, at 62-62, but never led again.
With 57 seconds to go and the Monarchs ahead, 68-65, Bolton-Holifield threw up a crazy-looking, 15-foot hook shot--and it went in.
Leslie: “When she made that shot, I thought ‘It’s just not our day.’ ”
Coach Michael Cooper saw his club begin to labor after the Sparks had registered a 14-7 run to start the second half.
“Fatigue was a factor,” he said. “Even if this had been a night game it might have been different. When I saw us shooting with our first looks, I knew we were tired.”
Said Allen: “I agree, having a travel day on back-to-back games is tough.”
Allen’s own team was playing 48 hours after beating New York in Madison Square Garden on Friday.
“Two things worked in our favor. They got tired and our crowd energized our defense in the last minutes. Then again, maybe we won because we played great defense--I don’t know.”
Many would agree. Sacramento wing Kedra Holland-Corn, playing 37 minutes, shackled Spark point Ukari Figgs in the first half, then did the same to Tamecka Dixon in the second half. Figgs finished with three points, and Dixon had 15, but 13 of those came in the first half.
Leslie had her 40th career double/double, 19 points and 11 rebounds, but made only six of 20 field-goal attempts.
Backup center Clarisse Machanguana played well, contributing 22 minutes, much of them defending Griffith, who had 11 points and eight rebounds.
Machanguana had eight points, five rebounds, two steals and an assist.
Machanguana may be the WNBA’s best center who isn’t starting and several teams have submitted trade offers. For those who covet her, the price went up Sunday.