Dixon Scores 28 in Sparks’ Win

Michael Cooper couldn’t help but be impressed with his top sharp shooter, but it didn’t stop there.

“Tamecka Dixon, what a player,” the Spark coach said.

Dixon had a career-high 28 points and the Sparks defeated Washington, 97-91, Wednesday night as the Mystics tied a franchise record with their 11th consecutive defeat.

Dixon made 11 of 14 shots and was five of five from the free-throw line as Los Angeles (15-3) increased its lead in the WNBA’s Western Conference to 4 1/2 games over idle Houston.

But the Sparks needed more than Dixon’s breakout game. Los Angeles got 18 points from Lisa Leslie, 16 apiece from Mwadi Mabika and DeLisha Milton, and 15 from Nikki Teasley. The Sparks made 32 of 56 shots (57.1%) in their best offensive game of the season.

“Again we took another team’s great shot and we responded well,” Cooper said. “Obviously we’re not a one-player team with the way we have people who can step up, but tonight she did a great job.”

The Mystics, last in the Eastern Conference with the worst record in the WNBA, fell to 2-14 despite 27 points from Chamique Holdsclaw.

“This is the type of effort we have to carry every night,” Holdsclaw said. “People around the league can’t believe that we have this record as much as we can’t believe it. We’re in games and that’s the frustrating part.”

The Mystics went on an 11-2 run to get within 78-71 on Stacey Dales-Schuman’s three-point basket with 5:30 remaining, but that was as close as they would get until Keisha Brown’s three-point basket with 6.3 seconds left.

Both teams survived a scare when Leslie and Holdsclaw collided and hit the court in the opening two minutes, but neither was seriously injured. Leslie also had a season-high five blocks as the Sparks improved to a league-best 10-1 on the road.

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Personal Best

Tamecka Dixon’s 28 points Wednesday against Washington was a career high for the Spark guard, bettering the 26 she scored at Detroit on July 25, 1998. The regular-season single-game highs for the Sparks’ other starters:

*--* Lisa Leslie 32 vs. Minnesota, July 8, 2001 Mwadi Mabika 32 at Portland, July 12, 2002 DeLisha Milton 23 at Portland, July 12, 2002 Nikki Teasley 19 at Seattle, May 30, 2003

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