Tina Thompson leads Sparks to 73-63 victory
After the Sparks’ fourth straight loss Tuesday, Coach Jennifer Gillom called for a change. Center Tina Thompson did too.
Two days later, the team had altered nothing — but looked completely different.
Led by Thompson, the Sparks rallied from a disastrous third quarter to defeat San Antonio, 73-63, on Thursday.
The Sparks (4-11) went on a 12-0 run in the fourth quarter and outscored San Antonio, 17-6, in the final five minutes to ensure the win.
“This team just buckled down and said, ‘Hey, we’re not losing that game. We just blew a 15-point lead and now it’s time for us to step up,’” Gillom said.
Aggressive on both sides of the floor to begin the game, the Sparks forced 12 turnovers and held the Silver Stars (5-9) to just 24 points in the first half — a season low.
“Our defense told the story of the game,” said Thompson, who had 24 points, 10 rebounds and three blocked shots. “We were consistently where we were supposed to be.… That makes a difference in the game.”
The Sparks tied their season-low with nine points in the third quarter, on one field goal and seven free throws. They were out-rebounded, 11-3, and turned the ball over five times.
The third quarter has been a problem for the team all season.
“Even though tonight we were faced by the same situation, we had a big enough lead that they had to make a hard push to get back in the game,” Gillom said. “And we took advantage of that and made our push in the fourth quarter.”
Despite fielding a team of just eight players Thursday, talk of personnel changes faded —for now, at least — as the team celebrated the victory.