SPARKS TODAY

at Sacramento, 1 p.m., ESPN

Site--Arco Arena.

Radio--KPLS (830).

Records--Sparks 6-1, Monarchs 1-4.

Record vs. Monarchs (2001)--3-0.

Update--The Sparks can thank the New York Liberty for losing to Sacramento in double overtime Thursday, 78-77, so the Monarchs are no longer desperate for their first win. Still, the first meeting between last year’s Western Conference finalists should be a good one. Los Angeles has been off since Tuesday’s 90-80 home victory over Detroit. Sacramento is seriously depleted without All-Star center Yolanda Griffith, who has a bulging disk, and guard Edna Campbell, who has breast cancer, and will need more games from guard Ticha Penicheiro like her 23-point, nine-assist effort against New York. Lisa Leslie’s scoring average (17.6) has dipped slightly from last year (19.5), but she doesn’t need to carry the same kind of offensive load because the Sparks have more scorers. That has freed Leslie to concentrate on rebounding, and her 12.0 per-game average leads the WNBA.