WNBA- Sparks Rise in Standings after Beating the Sun

The Los Angeles Sparks have become almost unstoppable in the conference, winning seven of their last eight games and rising in Western Conference standings to third place. Sunday was the most recent win in the team’s winning streak; the Sparks beat the Connecticut Sun 91-81 after a strong performance from the Sparks’ superstars, Candace Parker and Tina Thomson, who contributed 20 and 21 points, respectively. The victory takes the Sparks closer to the playoffs, and with only five games left in the regular season, Los Angeles is hoping only to rise even higher in the standings. In the first quarter, the Sparks managed a run that gave the LA team a double-digit lead. Both Parker and Thomson scored ten points each during the 18-6 run that left Los Angeles ahead by eleven points, finishing the first quarter 28-17. The Sparks managed to extend the lead in the second quarter. Connecticut tried to score but the team’s ineffective shooting percentage was hardly helpful, and the Sparks were left looking even more confident in the game. Another 11-8 run for the Sparks gave the team an incredible 20-point lead. Halftime began with a score of 47-27 in favor of Los Angeles. Reinvigorated, the Sun entered the third ready to cut the lead; the team managed to close the lead to 7 points, and with 1:36 left in the quarter, had the score at 61-54. Anete Jekabsone-Zogota was able to score 11 points for Connecticut alone in the quarter. The Sparks, however, responded with a three pointer by Betty Lennox and a layup shot by Delisha Milton-Jones to end the quarter 66-56. Both Milton-Jones and Thompson added 5 points each in the third for Los Angeles. Connecticut managed to cut the lead again in the fourth; in fact, by the last few minutes of the quarter, the Sun was down by only 8 points. Despite the Sun’s efforts, however, the Sparks managed to score 3 three-pointers during their final possession, with Jekabsone-Zogota, Lindsay Whalen, and Tan White scoring along with ten very important free throws that closed the game in their favor 91-81. At the end of the game, the Sparks’ superstar, Parker, expressed her satisfaction at her team’s success. She was also pleased with the double-double she contributed during the game, but she admitted that, after returning from giving birth three months ago, she was not yet at 100%. "I don't think I'm there yet. I feel like I'm 80-85% right now. I think we've got two or three more weeks before the playoffs start so I think by then, I'll feel like I'm back to where I was last year," stated Parker. The best scorers for Los Angeles Sparks were Tina Thompson with 21 points, 9 rebounds and 4 assists; Candace Parker with 20 points, 13 rebounds and 4 assists; Marie Ferdinand-Harris with 12 points; and ultimately Delisha Milton-Jones with 11 points, 5 assists and 2 rebounds. For the Connecticut Sun the best scorers were Anete Jekabsone-Zogota with 21 points, 3 rebounds and 3 assists; Tan White with 20 points and 5 rebounds; Lindsay Whalen with 15 points, 9 assists and 4 rebounds; and finally Sandrine Gruda with 12 points and 7 rebounds.