Victory Over Mystics Keeps the Sparks in Fast Lane, 74-72
It turned out nothing could stop the Sparks from recording their sixth consecutive victory, a 74-72 spellbinder over the dissension-torn Washington Mystics Monday night.
* Not playing their second tight road game within 27 hours.
* Not a bus driver from hell who dragged out their commute from New York to Washington to past midnight Sunday.
* Not a 25-point performance from a determined Chamique Holdsclaw, who played 39 minutes on a mission to prove something to her coach.
* Not an ankle injury that kept Tamika Dixon, who led the Sparks with 13 points, out of the closing minutes.
Before 16,259 at MCI Center, one of the season’s largest WNBA crowds, the Sparks improved their record to 10-2 and won their third in a row on a four-game Eastern trip that ends Wednesday at Indiana.
Monday, the streak was still in doubt until Mwadi Mabika came up big for the Sparks in the final minutes.
After sinking only one of 13 shots in the first 36 minutes, Mabika drained a three-point shot from the corner to give Los Angeles a 68-63 lead with 3:41 to go in a game that was close throughout.
Then she scored inside for 70-64 Spark lead with 3:24.
Then she cut to the lane, drove through heavy traffic, and put up a short jump shot that bounced around the rim before it fell in for the 74-72 lead with 24 seconds left.
On Washington’s last possession, Holdsclaw tried one acrobatic drive too many and bobbled the ball away. Nikki McCray picked it up, shot and missed with seconds left and the Sparks rebounded.
The Sparks ended up with all their starters in double figures: Dixon (13), Mabika (12), Leslie (12), Figgs (11) and Milton (10). Leslie added a game-high 14 rebounds, giving her 41 in her last three games.
In contrast, Holdsclaw and McCray (who finished with 23 points) accounted for 34 of the Mystics’ 39 second-half points.
It was a difficult defeat for the Mystics (6-6), whose coach, Nancy Darsch, and Holdsclaw have been feuding.
Unhappy over being benched for the final seven minutes of a recent game for blowing a defensive assignment, Holdsclaw unloaded on Darsch, saying the Mystics “will win some games but will never be a great team” with Darsch around.
Secret peace meetings were held in which all parties agreed not to air arguments in the media.
Then Holdsclaw nearly pulled out the game for the Mystics.
“I tip my hat to that young lady [Holdsclaw],” Cooper said. “We were doubling and tripling her and she still found ways to score. But my players hung in there and found a way to win--when you win like we are, you don’t get tired.”
The Sparks did have reason to be tired.
Just the night before they eked out a 72-67 victory over the New York Liberty.
Then the chartered bus ride from Madison Square Garden was delayed from the start.
Halfway to Washington, the driver pulled into a restaurant, announcing it was time for his one-hour break. It only got worse after that, but after Monday night’s win, the Sparks were all smiles.
Around the WNBA
Tina Thompson scored 19 points and the Houston Comets (12-2) used a 17-4 run in the second half to pull away to a 70-58 victory over the Miracle (7-6) at Orlando, Fla. . . . Natalie Williams had 21 points and 14 rebounds to lead the Utah Starzz (8-7) over the Sacramento Monarchs (8-5), 89-80 at Salt Lake City. Utah pulled away from a 29-29 halftime tie to lead by as many as 13 points before Sacramento closed within four with two minutes left.