Sparks fall to the Sun, 80-76, in overtime
Sun guard Alex Bentley tries to steal the ball from Sparks guard Jasmine Lister in the second half of their game Friday night.
Alex Bentley scored 18 points and the Connecticut Sun beat the short-handed Sparks, 80-76, in overtime on Friday night at Uncasville, Conn. It was the Sun’s seventh straight victory and left the Sparks without a win through their first six games of the season.
Jantel Lavender had 22 points and 12 rebounds for the (0-6). Andrea Hoover, a rookie from Dayton, made her first WNBA start for Los Angeles and had a season-high 17 points in 40 minutes. Nneka Ogwumike, in her second game back after an ankle injury, scored 14 points.
The Sparks went three-plus minutes without a field goal in the fourth quarter, but Jennifer Lacy’s three-pointer from the corner pulled Los Angeles within 66-65 with 57 seconds left. Connecticut’s Alyssa Thomas made one of two free throws for a two-point lead and Lavender’s layup tied it at 67 with 9.9 seconds left.
The Sun scored the first six points of overtime and the Sparks didn’t hit their first field goal until the 5.3-second mark.
Connecticut (7-1) is off to its best start since winning eight of its first nine games in 2008.
In the first half, Connecticut was down by as many as 14 points but scored the final eight points of the half.
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