Sparks Keep Storm on Outside
An oddsmaker wouldn’t have given the Sparks much of a chance here Saturday, bringing in a depleted team to face Seattle, which was receiving rings for winning the WNBA championship last year.
But Los Angeles rolled a seven at the Storm -- seven healthy or near-healthy available players -- and pulled off a 68-50 victory in front of 11,726 at KeyArena. It was the worst season-opening loss in Seattle history.
An active 2-3 matchup zone defense by Los Angeles eradicated an early 19-6 Seattle lead and frustrated the Storm into a 23.7% shooting afternoon (18 for 76), another franchise low. Unable to deeply penetrate the inner Sparks’ defense, the Storm stayed on the outside and flailed away, taking a WNBA-record 32 attempts from the three-point line and making six.
“We wanted to attack the seams, get into the zone and make the next pass,” a terse Storm Coach Anne Donovan said. “We were frustrated when the three-point shots didn’t go and we were almost stubborn to keep taking the shots. That played right into L.A.’s hands.”
How good was the Sparks’ defensive effort? Two-time league scoring champion Lauren Jackson was scoreless in the second half and had only eight points, ending her streak of scoring in double figures at 84 games. Last year’s playoff MVP Betty Lennox was the only Seattle player in double figures with 14. After Lennox (five of 18) no Seattle player made more than three baskets. And Los Angeles held Seattle scoreless for 7:45 of the second half, a stretch where the Storm missed 14 shots.
“We knew Seattle’s adrenaline would be flowing” after the pregame ring ceremony, said Spark Coach Henry Bibby, who won his WNBA coaching debut. “I said, ‘Let’s not get caught up in the emotions of the game.’ We just had to be patient and not let things get too far away from us.”
Said Lisa Leslie, who led all scorers with 23 points despite five fouls: “I think our defense did bother them. We are a taller team. Even when they were ahead of us I thought we held them. The last time we played defense like that? Probably when we won it in 2001. We’ve missed that the last couple of years.”
The defensive showing also pleased Chamique Holdsclaw, who had 16 points and 14 rebounds in her first game as a Spark.
“We showed tonight we could handle a little bit of adversity and not just lose it in the beginning,” said Holdsclaw, who made five of 17 shots. “We could have packed it in early, but we rallied behind our defense and gave each other a lot of energy.”
The Sparks brought only eight players -- Mwadi Mabika, recovering from arthroscopic knee surgery, stayed in Los Angeles and Italian League players Laura Macchi and Rafaella Masciadri have not yet reported from overseas -- and planned to play only seven. The eighth, rookie center Marlous Nieuwveen, had been waived earlier in training camp but had been brought back to the team on Friday. She was to play only in an emergency or if the game was totally out of hand. She did play in the final six seconds.
For the first 10 minutes, it looked as if it would be a long day for Los Angeles. The Sparks made only one of their first 12 shots, Leslie had three fouls, Seattle was pulling away 19-6, and the Seattle fans were loudly anticipating a laugher for the Storm.
But the Sparks dug down defensively and their zone defense kept the Storm on the outside. After starting the game four of eight, Seattle made only six of its next 24 shots as the lead evaporated under the Sparks’ pressure. Los Angeles got its first lead, 27-26, on free throws by Nikki Teasley with 54 seconds left in the half, and Holdsclaw’s layup would give the Sparks a 29-27 halftime lead.
Just as important, the Sparks kept the momentum when play resumed.
“We started slowly,” said Tamecka Dixon, who 12 points and five assists coming off the bench. “But we did a good job of taking them out of the things they like to do.... It’s been a long time, but I think as a team we’re recommitting ourselves to that kind of defensive effort every game. When we won our championships, that was the key for us.”