Los Angeles Sparks erupt in the fourth quarter to decimate Seattle Storm 72-66 - NBA Recap
Friday night marked the second game of 16th WNBA season as Seattle Storm hosted the game against Los Angeles Sparks here at Key Arena. The game turned out to be a thriller and at the end it was Kristi Toliver, who made
the difference.
Toliver paved the way for a Sparks win by scoring 10 of her 25 points in the decisive fourth frame. Sparks, after trailing for 3 quarters, erupted in the 4th evaporating a 21 points deficit along the way to win 72-66.
Toliver also dished out 6 assists and had 2 boards. She was contended to see her team taking the charge from the opening game.
`It's something that we haven't shown in the past. It's good to see this team show it from game one,'' Toliver said. ``We started off slow and were able to fight back. In this building, it's something that doesn't come easy, so
we're very proud of it.''
Forward Candace Parker collected 11 points and 4 boards for Sparks. But she stole the show with a three point dagger at the dying moments of the game that sealed the fate of Seattle.
Alana Beard and forward NNeka Ogwumike shared 9 a piece in Los Angeles Victory.
Seattle Storm opened their account confidently and led the scores by double-digit throughout the 1st half, however in the latter part of 2nd their shorts stopped falling and Sparks carved out a win. Ann Wauters
marshalled her team with 17 points and 7 boards while guard Sue Bird tallied 15 points, 6 assists and 6 rebounds. Forward Tristan Thompson had 12 points and 8 rebounds.
Seattle opened the game with an 11-0 burs and with the scores at15-6 deep into the frame, Bird came up with a layup that started a 9-2 run, allowing hosts to claim a 24-8 lead.
By the end of 1st frame Sparks could only reduce the gap to 24-10. They however reeled off a huge 14-5 run to trim down lead to 29-24 early in the second. Bird netted a pair from the 3-point line for Storm and capped
of the opening half with a 35-24 advantage.
Ogwumike opened the 3rd period with a fade away and reduced the double digit lead to 35-26. However the hosts started a 13-4 run, stretching the lead to 48-30 with 4:36 in hand. They went on to conclude the frame with
a 56-42 advantage.
Things took a dramatic shift in the decisive frame. Behind Toliver, Sparks erupted with a 12-nothing run and trimmed down the 14 points lead to just 2 points, 56-54. Seattle added 2 more points to make it 58-54 before Los Angeles
came up with their final 18-8 spurt.
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