Sparks Turn 16, and They’re Still Growing
The Sparks may never lose again.
OK, that’s unrealistic. But they haven’t lost for a while--since June 24 in New York, to be exact--and Monday’s 81-66 victory over Indiana before 8,166 at Staples Center was their 16th consecutive, breaking the WNBA record set by Houston in 1998.
The Sparks improved their record to 25-3 and their league-record home winning streak to 20 (14-0 this season), and stayed on course to close out the season with the league’s best record. Victories in two of their final four games would assure the Sparks of home-court advantage throughout the playoffs.
Coach Michael Cooper would like those wins to come in the next two games, the final two home dates--Wednesday against Phoenix and Saturday’s showdown with defending champion Houston. It’s one of the goals he has set for the Sparks to sustain their interest at the end of the regular season.
“With this win we set ourselves apart from the past champion, the Comets,” Cooper said. “And if we can go through the home schedule undefeated, I don’t think that record will be broken.
“I don’t think another team will go undefeated at home because the league is becoming too good, teams play too well on the road and with the addition of new teams the next two years it will be tough to win at home every night.”
Lisa Leslie led the Sparks with 23 points, 13 rebounds and a season-high six assists Monday. Ukari Figgs scored 13 and Rhonda Mapp came off the bench to score 11.
Afterward the Sparks contained their happiness at setting the record.
“We just go out and play,” said Natasha Byears, who scored six points in 13 quiet minutes. “That’s what we’ve been doing all season. We can enjoy this for a moment. But it’s just another step to where we want to get.”
“We’ll enjoy it for what it is, but we won’t get too high about it,” said DeLisha Milton. “We know when you get up high, there’s always somebody chopping down your tree. We still have work to do.
“From the first day of training camp Coach Cooper planted the seed about being a championship team. There’s not a day that goes by where he doesn’t use that word. We believe there is still something bigger out there for us.”
Indiana (9-20), which got 17 points from Alicia Thompson and 15 from Jurgita Streimikyte, did not seem like the team that would end the Sparks’ streak. But that is exactly what made Cooper nervous.
“This is the one game on the homestand I was most scared of,” Cooper said. “This was a team we hadn’t seen all year, and I expected them to come in here with nothing to lose. I heard they even canceled their shootaround this morning, just come in here tonight and play.”
The Fever could not stop the Sparks from jumping ahead, 8-0. Indiana would get its bearings and close to within 12-11, only to see the Sparks surge again with a 14-2 run for a 26-13 lead.
Leslie, who has done much of her scoring in the second half of late, was on her game from the outset. Her 16 points and seven rebounds helped build the Sparks’ 44-35 halftime lead. She and the Sparks controlled the boards, 20-13, which kept L.A.’s fast break humming throughout the first 20 minutes.
Indiana would not have been as close as it was without the outside shooting of Stephanie McCarty, who scored nine points by making all three of the Fever’s three-pointers in the half. Streimikyte tried to keep Leslie busy defensively and scored eight points.
The Fever never led, and although it closed to within five points twice in the second half, the Sparks were never in danger. In the final 10 minutes they outscored Indiana, 24-12. Their biggest lead was 81-61 before McCarty made one last three-point shot with 38 seconds left.
“They are the best team we’ve played this year,” said Fever Coach Nell Fortner. “They are so athletic, and Lisa’s the best player in the league, hands down.