Milton Provides Late Spark

DeLisha Milton’s layup with 1:46 to play gave the Sparks their first lead in the second half and a 62-60 victory Saturday night over the Minnesota Lynx at Minneapolis.

Milton scored the game’s final seven points, and the Sparks ended the game with a 12-3 run to improve their record to 5-0.

Minnesota’s Betty Lennox missed a running one-hander with three seconds left, and the rebound bounced away from the basket.

Katie Smith scored 16 of her 24 points in the second half for Minnesota.

Milton finished with 13 points. Lisa Leslie led the Sparks with 17 points and 16 rebounds.

Minnesota led by as many as 10 points in the second half, when Smith’s three-point basket with 12:49 to play gave the Lynx a 45-35 lead.

The Sparks rallied to tie the score, 50-50, when Leslie followed a teammate’s miss with 8:42 to play. The Lynx then scored the next seven points, but the Sparks rallied when Milton made a layup and a three-pointer to tie the score, 60-60.

The Lynx held the Sparks to one field goal over a 10-minute stretch of the first half but led only 32-30 at halftime.

In other WNBA games:

Miami 71, Sacramento 67--Sheri Sam scored 21 points as the surprising Sol remained unbeaten by defeating the Monarchs at Sacramento.

Miami squandered an 11-point lead in the second half, but managed to hold off Sacramento for its fourth consecutive victory to open the season.

Trailing by nine points, the Monarchs rallied behind the shooting of Edna Campbell, who made two three-point baskets and a short baseline jumper, cutting Miami’s lead to 64-63 with 1:26 remaining.

But Sam made a three-pointer, and the Sol added four free throws in the final 24 seconds to defeat the Monarchs.

Elena Baranova had 12 points, seven rebounds, five assists and five blocks for Miami.

Cleveland 86, Indiana 76--Chasity Melvin scored 22 points at Cleveland to lead the Rockers over the Fever.

Melvin scored 14 points in the second half and finished with a team-high five assists.

Penny Taylor, the Rockers’ first-round draft pick, had 12 points.

Nadine Malcolm led Indiana with 15 points, but was held scoreless in the second half. Alicia Thompson had 13 points for the Fever.

Charlotte 86, Orlando 79--Andrea Stinson scored 25 points as the Sting ended a three-game losing streak with a victory over the Miracle at Orlando, Fla.

Allison Feaster scored 16 of her 18 points in the first half for Charlotte. Dawn Staley added 13 points and nine assists.

Taj McWilliams-Franklin led Orlando with 23 points. Elaine Powell finished with 16 points, nine rebounds and eight assists.

Seattle 73, Utah 65--The Storm sprinted to a 12-point lead at the start and defeated the Starzz behind 16 points by Katy Steding at Salt Lake City.

Seattle’s other forward, Lauren Jackson, had 15 points, including a three-pointer to quell a late Starzz rally.

Seattle had a 14-2 lead four minutes into the game and led by as many as 21 points in the first half.

Rookie Marie Ferdinand came off the bench to lead Utah with 17 points and seven rebounds, and helped spark the late rally by the Starzz.