Sacramento Aims to Make Road Rough

Sparks opponents have ended some losing streaks this season.

Phoenix had lost 18 consecutive games to the Sparks before winning at home Sept. 9. Minnesota had dropped 18 consecutive regular-season games before beating the Sparks at Staples Center last Friday.

Now the Sacramento Monarchs figure it’s their turn.

Sacramento has won its share of games against the Sparks. What it has not won is a playoff series. The Monarchs met the Sparks in the postseason in the 2001 and 2003 Western Conference finals. Both times the Sparks won the best-of-three series, 2-1.

Tonight in Sacramento, the teams open the first round of the WNBA playoffs. The Monarchs (18-16), the fourth seed in the Western Conference, expect to pack ARCO Arena and have the confidence they can beat the Sparks based on their 2-2 split in the regular-season series.

“We owe L.A. a lot,” Sacramento center Yolanda Griffith told fans chanting “BEAT L.A.!” after the Monarchs’ regular season-ending victory against Minnesota last Sunday.

The Sparks (25-9), the top seed in the West, say they are ready for anything. And they feel they have something to prove even though they have won two of the last three WNBA championships. In last year’s playoffs, they did not win a road game. That ultimately cost them a three-peat; the Shock beat them twice in Detroit to win the title.

“The first game on the road is always crucial,” Spark co-coach Karleen Thompson said. “With this playoff format we have, it doesn’t really become a home-court advantage if you don’t win the first game.

Winning on the road “is definitely something we’re focusing on,” Nikki Teasley said, adding that former coach Michael Cooper “always said you win the championship on the road and that’s something that never leaves my mind. ARCO Arena is definitely one of the hardest places to play in the game. To go there and get a win would be big, but it’s something we look forward to doing.”

The Sparks finished the regular season with the league’s best record, but they are not at full strength. Forward DeLisha Milton-Jones is out with a season-ending knee injury. Reserves Laura Macchi and Raffaella Masciadri had to return to Italy earlier this month to fulfill other contractual obligations and have not returned. They are on the playoff roster and could be back before Game 2 on Sunday.

So for one game at least, the Sparks have just eight players. Monique Coker and Mfon Udoka, replacements for Macchi and Masciadri, were signed only through the regular season.

“We’ll have to focus on our game, our defense and play together as a team,” Thompson said. “I think we’ll be all right.”

A look at other WNBA first-round matchups:

Eastern Conference

No. 2 New York (18-16) vs. No. 3 Detroit (17-17), tonight -- The defending-champion Shock squeezed into the playoffs on the final day of the regular season. But Detroit figures to have a tough time defending its title, having lost star forward Swin Cash to a season-ending knee injury. The Liberty, like the Sparks, had a coaching change midway through the season. Pat Coyle, who took over for Richie Adubato on July 3, guided New York to an 11-7 finish after the team’s 7-9 start.

*--* SCHEDULE Best of three; All times Pacific TONIGHT AT DETROIT 5 SUNDAY AT NEW YORK 9 A.M. TUESDAY AT NEW YORK 5 P.M.

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No. 1 Connecticut (18-16) vs. No. 4 Washington (17-17), Saturday -- The Sun has the youngest team in the WNBA, including five rookies. The Mystics are without their best player, Chamique Holdsclaw, who is out for the season because of an undisclosed ailment, but won seven of their last 10 games to get past Indiana and Charlotte for the final playoff slot.

*--* SCHEDULE Best of three; All times Pacific SATURDAY AT WASHINGTON 9 A.M. MONDAY AT CONNECTICUT 4 P.M. WEDNESDAY AT CONNECTICUT 5 P.M.

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Western Conference

No. 2 Seattle (20-14) vs. No. 3 Minnesota (18-16), Saturday -- Seattle forward Lauren Jackson, last season’s league MVP, averaged 20.5 points to win her second consecutive scoring title. The Lynx staggered into the playoffs after losing All-Star guard and Olympian Katie Smith to a knee injury but have a potent inside game with rookies Nicole Ohlde and Vanessa Hayden.

*--* SCHEDULE Best of three; All times Pacific SATURDAY AT MINNESOTA 11 A.M. MONDAY AT SEATTLE 6:30 P.M. WEDNESDAY AT SEATTLE 7 P.M.

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