Sparks Manage to Cut the Starzz Down to Size
Spark Coach Michael Cooper likes to say one of the reasons the team acquired Latasha Byears and Rhonda Mapp was to give it the size and strength to battle the bigger players in the WNBA.
Tuesday’s game, an 84-71 victory over the Utah Starzz before 7,245 at Staples Center, was a textbook example.
With 6-foot-2 Natalie Williams, 6-1 Kate Starbird and 7-2 Margo Dydek, Utah--at least on paper--has one of the league’s more imposing frontcourts. Especially Williams, the talented power forward who nightly scores and rebounds in double figures.
She did so Tuesday, with 16 points and 10 rebounds. But the shuttle system of Byears (starter) and Mapp (off the bench) kept Williams to a typical night, not a great one. Byears contributed 17 points and seven rebounds.
“We felt we contained her,” said Mapp, who had six points.
Lisa Leslie (a team-high 18 points), needed occasional low-post help from Byears, Mapp and DeLisha Milton on Dydek. But the towering Czech had only nine points, and was scoreless in the second half.
Starbird took only one shot and had two points.
With their third straight victory--and sixth in as many games at their new home--the Sparks (12-3) stayed percentage points behind Houston in the Western Conference. Utah slipped to 5-8.
Individually and collectively the Sparks are finding the defensive swagger Cooper has been looking for since the season started. Utah may have shot 49.2% in the game, but that was counterbalanced by 16 Starzz turnovers and an inability to control the rebounds. The Sparks, meanwhile, shot 53% from the field and had a 27-26 rebounding edge.
“I think we’re starting to hit our stride,” Cooper said. “We’re starting to play the kind of defense we played last year. Our defense has been our catalyst for our offense. We have to get some easy baskets, not just keep settling in a half-court game.”
In neutralizing the Utah frontcourt with a collapsing, swarming defense, the Sparks had to give up something. So even though Starzz guard Jennifer Azzi had a hot hand, making five of 10 three-point shots and leading all scorers with 19 points, the Sparks just let her fire away.
“We wanted her to take more shots because that means there are less for Williams and Dydek,” Cooper said.
Along with starting another winning streak, it is evident how the Sparks have perked up on this homestand after playing so many early games on the road.
“Even when we lost those games we didn’t lose our confidence,” said guard Ukari Figgs, who had 10 points. “But since we got back home, we’ve been able to work on some things that have helped us play well and get back in rhythm.
“Now we don’t want to just sustain that rhythm, we want to improve it.”
The Sparks, who led 42-35 at halftime, never let Utah get closer than three points in the second half.
Leading 61-57 with about 9 1/2 minutes left, the Sparks went on a 13-2 run in a little more than four minutes to put the game away.
“I felt good early about what the Sparks were giving us [on defense],” Utah Coach Fred Williams said. “But the last eight minutes of the second half we allowed them to run, and grab a double-digit lead. We took too many quick shots. We have to stick with passing. That’s what we’ve been trying to focus on all season.”
In other WNBA games:
Washington 72, Seattle 69--Helen Luz scored eight of her 11 points in the fourth overtime to lift the Mystics at Seattle in the longest game in WNBA history.
Sacramento 91, Minnesota 52--Kedra Holland-Corn scored 25 points at Minneapolis to help the Monarchs to their fourth consecutive victory.
Charlotte 66, New York 61--Andrea Stinson scored 20 points at Charlotte, N.C., to help the Sting to its fourth victory in a row.