Candace Parker puts up a super show as Los Angeles Sparks defeat Tulsa Shock 95-79: WNBA Recap
On Wednesday night playing in front of their home crowd at the Staples Center, Los Angeles Sparks put away the visiting Tulsa Shock 95-79 in a game which saw Candace Parker pull of a spectacular night.
Another impressive thing in the win for LA was that it meant that they remain undefeated at home to start the season.
Parker finished the night with astonishing number of 33 points, 9 blocks and 8 rebounds. She shot the ball 14 of 21 from the field and capped off the amazing performance by completing a three point play.
Kristi Toliver also had a good night, on a 4 of 9 shooting performance, finishing with 22 points. She had a 100% conversion rate from the stripe, making all 14 of her free throw attempts. Rookie Nneka Ogwumike managed to get 12
points while DeLisha Milton contributed 15 points.
For Tulsa, Glory Johnson managed to get 19 points while Temeka Johnson and Courtney Paris chipped in with 11 points each. Ivory Latta and Riquna Williams also managed to cross the double digit mark by adding 10 points each.
Both teams were let down by their three point shooting in the game. LA were only able to connect on 1 of their 10 attempts in the game while the Shock`s had better luck with 3 of 15 from beyond the arc.
LA shot the ball 54.8% from the field whereas Tulsa, unable to find their rhythm in the game, could only muster a conversion rate of 37.2%.
Tulsa got off to a good start to the game and held a 10-4 lead. But, in the following minute, LA responded back with a 9-0 run and went on to hold a 28-23 lead after the first period.
It took almost 6 and half minutes of the second quarter for Sparks to prolong their lead into double figures. To start of the period, they had Alana Beard making back to back jump shots, starting an 11-5 burst.
For the remaining time in the first half, LA continued to lead in double figures and were ahead by 49-39 at the interval.
The third quarter saw the LA lead slip down to as less as 8, and then get as big as 13. However by the close of the stanza, the advantage remained at 10 – 67 to 57.
LA continued to pile on the pressure in the fourth quarter by finding ways to outmanoeuvre the Tulsa defence and converting possession in to scores. They never allowed their advantage to really get below the double digit mark and
went on to win the game by a difference of 16 points.
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