Leslie’s 17 Lead L.A. in Win
A halftime pep talk helped the first-place Sparks surge past the last-place San Antonio Silver Stars on Saturday.
“The coaches told us it was our worst defense of the season,” said Leslie, who scored 17 points in the Sparks’ 79-67 victory at San Antonio. “That was enough to motivate us.”
San Antonio led, 37-34, at halftime, but the Sparks opened the second half with an 18-5 run.
The Sparks moved two games ahead of second-place Seattle in the Western Conference.
Los Angeles (19-7) has the best record in the WNBA heading into the monthlong break for the Olympic Games.
The Silver Stars, who dropped their sixth straight, were led by Agnieszka Bibrzycka’s 16 points and LaToya Thomas’ 13.
Jessie Hicks had a season-high 12 points, and Adrienne Goodson added 10 for San Antonio (6-20).
The Sparks, winners of five straight, got help from Laura Macchi (14 points), Nikki Teasley (13) and Tamika Whitmore (11).
“We got off to a slow start tonight,” Spark co-coach Karleen Thompson said. “We had a tough game in Sacramento that kind of carried over and they were back-to-back. So we had to come out and be mentally tough, especially in the second half.”
The Silver Stars cut the lead to 62-56 when Toccara Williams made two free throws with 4:53 left, but could get no closer.
Houston 62, Indiana 54 -- Tina Thompson had 31 points and 10 rebounds for the Comets at home.
Sheryl Swoopes added 12 points for the Comets (12-14), who did not make a field goal in the final 10:52 but made 15 of 20 free throws down the stretch.
Tamika Catchings had 18 points and 13 rebounds for the Fever (12-15), losers of six straight games.
Thompson was eight for 17 from the field, 11 for 14 from the line and four for four from three-point range.
New York 80, Connecticut 66 -- Becky Hammon scored 24 points and Crystal Robinson 17 for the Liberty, which won for the fourth time in five games. The game was the second of six being played at Radio City Music Hall while Madison Square Garden is being prepared for the Republican National Convention.
Sacramento 62, Charlotte 61 -- Tangela Smith scored 13 points for the Monarchs, who rallied late for a home victory.
Kara Lawson made a pull-up jumper off the fastbreak, putting the Monarchs ahead for good at 60-59 with 2:33 left. It was the first lead since midway through the first half for Sacramento (12-13).
The Sting (12-12) squandered a nine-point lead in the second half and fell out of first place in the Eastern Conference.