An Old Friend Helps Sparks Defeat Sting

One basket was what she needed. One basket to begin scraping off the rust from having to miss 16 games -- half a season -- with the Sparks in need of her ability to score.

That first basket by Mwadi Mabika came at the 3:55 mark of the first half, after three missed attempts. It was like the unlocking of an invisible force field from the nine-year guard, who had been out while recovering from arthroscopic surgery on her right knee.

That basket, and the two that followed, were part of decisive 17-2 run in the first half of the Sparks’ 71-59 victory over the Charlotte Sting Tuesday in front of 8,385 at Staples Center.

It wasn’t exactly a fairy-tale return for Mabika. She did score 11 points, but only made four of 11 shots. Lisa Leslie led the Sparks (10-7) with 26 points and 11 rebounds, followed by Chamique Holdsclaw with 18 points.

Yet there was no denying the energy Mabika brought to the lineup.

Mabika dived on the floor for loose balls. Twice she tied up Sting players to force jump balls. She even had a team-high seven assists.

“She’s further along than I thought,” Spark Coach Henry Bibby said. “But we haven’t played any games [with her] and that makes a difference. The key is how she’s going to feel tomorrow. But I wanted to play her. I told her to shoot the basketball, don’t worry about making any passes. Just get into a flow.”

Mabika said her “flow” is still days away.

“I felt good in the beginning,” Mabika said. “Then I got tight a little and had to get some treatment. I felt much better in the second half.

“I’m glad this is not a back-to-back situation. I think it’s going to take me a week or two to really get into my rhythm. I’m just happy to come back.”

For Charlotte, which got 15 points from Tammy Sutton-Brown, the 2005 season continues to be bleak. The loss dropped the Sting to 3-13.

Bibby said before the game he did not have a set amount of minutes in mind to play Mabika. “She said she’s ready to play. She looked OK in her last couple of practices, but games are different.

“At this point her [coming back] is more mental than anything. I think she has to come and believe her leg is OK. That’s the biggest thing, fighting through that.”

Mabika wound up playing 32 minutes.

She replaced Tamecka Dixon in the starting lineup. Dixon, who dressed but did not play, hopes her left leg will not be an extended problem. She’s been bothered with fluid buildup in the leg since February, while playing in Italy. She’s already had her knee drained twice and may need to do it again. First, though, she will rest the knee, perhaps as long as a week.

“[The doctors] want see if the rest takes effect,” Dixon said. “Once that happens they’ll make a decision on whether to drain it again, or not.... Otherwise the ligaments and cartilage are fine. There’s nothing floating around in there.”

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