Sparks close losingest season with 82-72 loss
Several things came between the Sparks this season and their usual winning ways. The Houston Comets were only the latest and the last ones.
Sherill Baker scored 16 points and Jessica Moore notched a career-high 13 points, but the Sparks couldn’t hold on to a 10-point first-quarter lead and lost their season finale, 82-72, in front of an announced 10,365 Sunday night at Staples Center.
“I was just trying to go out there and try to play the best I possibly can,” Moore said. “I always thought we could find a way to win because I feel like we were just that one game, that one little play away from being great.”
The odds of the Sparks (10-24) improving on their worst season in franchise history increased considerably once their last game was decided, and they got even better when three-time league most valuable player Lisa Leslie took the court, microphone in hand, and excited a disappointed crowd minutes afterward by promising to come back next year after sitting out this season because of pregnancy and maternity leave after the birth of her first child on June 15.
“We’re only one player away, and I’ll tell you what,” she said. “I promise you I will be back out on this court.”
The Sparks can’t wait, especially given Sunday’s outcome, in which Tina Thompson’s 22 points led Houston (13-21).
The Sparks (10-24) settled into a tie with Western Conference rival Minnesota for the worst overall record in the league after the Lynx (10-24) upset San Antonio (20-14) in another game Sunday, but the Sparks will own the largest number of balls in the October draft lottery, giving them the greatest chance of receiving the top pick in the 2008 draft because they finished the season with a worse conference record (6-16) than the Lynx (8-14). If teams’ overall records are identical, conference records are the next tiebreaker after head-to-head results. The Sparks and Lynx split four games.
“It’s going to be real exciting, you know?” Sparks General Manager Penny Toler said. “I think -- I don’t even think it -- I know, we’re going to be back to our winning ways, so I’m definitely looking forward to the off-season. I just hope our ball comes up No. 1.”
For this season, though, the Sparks’ number is up, after eight consecutive playoff appearances, including consecutive WNBA championships in 2001 and 2002.
They were set down by a series of setbacks, not the least of which was the absence of Leslie, compounded by the surprise retirement of forward Chamique Holdsclaw, and preseason knee surgery on point guard Temeka Johnson.
An assortment of other injuries, a general lack of familiarity, and a tendency to fade at the end of tight games didn’t help. The Sparks dropped eight of 12 games that were decided by five points or fewer, or that went to overtime.
“It’s just been a tough season for us,” Coach Michael Cooper said.
“It was a very resilient team, and that’s the thing I’ll appreciate about this ballclub. We’ve been in almost every game this season.”
They just didn’t win very many after a respectable start. After going 7-6 in their 13 games, the Sparks lost 18 of their last 21, including eight of their last nine.
They also set team records for fewest victories and most losses, registered their lowest single-game point total (47), their longest losing streak (seven games) and longest stretch of home games without a victory (eight games). More than ready to put those struggles behind them, the Sparks now can’t help but look ahead.
“I think we’re just one puzzle piece short, and next year, who knows?” Moore said. “We’ll surprise a lot of people, I think, and be back on top.”
--
--
Playoff matchups
Best-of-three first-round games; all times Pacific (x -- if necessary):
EASTERN CONFERENCE
DETROIT VS. NEW YORK
at New York…Friday, 4:30 p.m.
at Detroit…Sunday, 10 a.m.
at Detroit…Aug. 28, 4 p.m.*
INDIANA VS. CONNECTICUT
at Connecticut…Thursday, 4 p.m.
at Indiana…Saturday, 1 p.m.
at Indiana…Aug. 27, 4 p.m.*
WESTERN CONFERENCE
PHOENIX VS. SEATTLE
at Seattle…Friday, 7 p.m.
at Phoenix…Sunday, 4 p.m.
at Phoenix…Aug. 28, 6 p.m.*
SAN ANTONIO VS. SACRAMENTO
at Sacramento…Thursday, 7 p.m.
at San Antonio…Saturday, 10 a.m.
at San Antonio…Aug. 27, TBD*