Sparks Flawed but Perfect

Sometimes the best time for a team to face adversity is when it least expects it.

Tuesday night’s game against Charlotte should have been made to order for the Sparks. The Sting had won only once in its previous seven games, was stuck in a four-game losing streak, was short two players because of injuries and should have been tired from having played in Seattle the night before.

But instead of breezing, the Sparks struggled to a 73-69 victory before 8,823 at Staples Center.

To extend its WNBA record start to 9-0, the Sparks were extended to the final minute, before free throws by Mwadi Mabika and Tamecka Dixon closed out Charlotte (1-8) for good.

“It goes to show,” said Lisa Leslie, who had her third double-double this season with 19 points and 13 rebounds, “we are a marked team. Every one is going to play their best against us. We have to understand that we cannot come out, play around and expect to win all the time.”

Coach Michael Cooper saw another small crack in the Sparks’ flawless start.

“This is the first time in a longtime we were more offensive-minded than defensive-minded,” Cooper said.

And that wasn’t good. Not on a night the Sparks shot only 36.6% from a field and were even colder from the three-point line, making only five of 17 attempts (29.4%). Charlotte wasn’t much hotter at 42.9% (and six of 18 from the three-point line). But the Sting had a 39-35 halftime lead, battled back from a couple of 10-point deficits and made the Sparks work for whatever they got.

The Sparks also had a scare in the second half when Mabika, while trying to wrestle a rebound away from Charlotte center Summer Erb, felt a sharp pain in her right shoulder and went grimacing to the bench. She later returned to the game.

“There was a real sharp pain for about three minutes,” said Mabika, who had 18 points. “I had hurt the shoulder in practice about three weeks ago doing the same thing, trying to get a rebound.”

The Sparks were saved by the small breaks that Charlotte couldn’t seem to get.

With four minutes to play and the score tied at 64, Leslie and Sting guard Andrea Stinson battled for a rebound under the the Sparks’ basket. Stinson got the ball, and was falling out of bounds when she tried to throw the ball off Leslie’s body. Instead Leslie was able to catch Stinson’s throw and lay it back in for the go-ahead basket.

And in the final 30 seconds, and the Sparks clinging to a 72-69 lead, Erb, who had 16 points off the bench, drove the lane and attempted an open layup but missed.

Charlotte had one more chance when former Spark Allison Feaster tied up Ukari Figgs after Figgs fell down with 14.1 seconds to play. Feaster won the tap--and knocked the ball out of bounds.

It has already been that kind of year for the Sting, who were led by Dawn Staley’s 18 points.

“We played a very good game,” Charlotte Coach Ann Donovan said. “We had big play from Summer Erb, we had great leadership from our veterans. We ended up a little short tonight, but made strides.”

Cooper is not looking for strides but a level of play he and the Sparks can consistently count on.

“Tonight was another example of champions finding a way to win,” he said. “We got a jump on them, got complacent and then had to come back. But I’m glad to get the win because it gets us off on a good foot for our road trip, which I think will be the toughest of the year.”

The Sparks open a four-game trip Thursday with a makeup game in Houston, if the rain damaged Compaq Center can be reopened.

Tamika Whitmore scored 23 points to lead the New York Liberty (6-3) to a 65-56 victory over the Sacramento Monarchs (4-5) before 7,646 at Sacramento, the Liberty’s fifth consecutive win. It was the fourth loss in five games for the Monarchs. La’Keshia Frett led Sacramento with 17 points. . . . Tully Bevilaqua scored a career-high 12 points and took three charges on defense as the Portland Fire (5-2) defeated the visiting Seattle Storm (5-5), 58-43, before a crowd of 8,151.

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THE STREAK

The Sparks have yet to lose a game. A look at how they’ve opened the season:

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Date Opponent, Score May 28 at Houston, 66-63 June 1 at Orlando, 68-62 June 2 at Charlotte, 76-67 June 5 Cleveland, 58-50 June 9 at Minnesota, 62-60 June 14 Orlando, 84-68 June 16 at Seattle, 73-60 June 17 Portland, 90-75 June 19 Charlotte, 73-69

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OTHER SCORES

* New York 65, Sacramento 56

* Portland 58, Seattle 43