Los Angeles Sparks 31 – Indiana Fever 30: WNBA Game Halftime Analysis
Ebony Hoffman came off the bench to lead all scorers with 15 points and four rebounds as Los Angeles Sparks led Indiana Fever 31-30 at halftime on Wednesday night at Staples Center.
Hoffman shot 6 for 8 from the field, including 3 for 5 from three-point range. Tina Thompson grabbed five rebounds, scored four points and dished out three assists for Los Angeles. Candace Parker also added four points, three rebounds
and two assists for Sparks, who are looking to bounce back from their previous defeat to Atlanta Dream.
Tammy Sutton-Brown led Indiana with nine points on 4 for 4 shooting from the floor. Tangela Smith contributed eight points, four rebounds and four assists while Tamika Catchings totalled six points and four rebounds for the Fever.
Los Angeles shot 41.4 percent (12 for 29) from the field and limited Fever to just 36.7 percent (11 for 30). They however committed 10 turnovers in the first half as compared to just five by the visiting team.
First Quarter
Indiana got to a terrific start and scored the first seven points of the opening period to take an initial lead. Candace Parker tried to halt the surge with a running bank shot and scored first basket for the Sparks. Fever however
romped a 9-2 run in the ensuing passage and pushed their lead to 12 points, 16-4, with 04:19 to go in the first quarter.
String at a double digit hole early, Tina Thompson hit a jumper and Jenna O'Hea followed with a charge to the rim to cut Fever’s lead to eight points at 16-8. Fever maintained their hold though and Catchings’ layup with 02:48 remaining
in the quarter again gave Indiana a double digit lead, 19-9. Hoffman however scored seven of her points in the last two minutes of the quarter as Los Angeles showed only five down, 21-16, at the end of the quarter.
Second Quarter
Carrying their momentum, Sparks opened the second quarter on a 10-0 run and went ahead by 26-21. Indiana scored the next four points of the quarter and carried a 28-26 lead before Los Angeles punctuated five consecutive points
to make it 31-28. Smith pinned two free throws and Shavonte Zellous made a jumper in the last 55 seconds of the quarter as Fever cut their deficit to one at halftime.
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