Los Angeles Sparks rally late; Hand Tulsa Shock a WNBA worst 18th defeat, 73-67 – WNBA Recap
Candace Parker scored 16 of her game high 23 points in the second half as Los Angeles Sparks rallied from 13-point halftime deficit and beat Tulsa Shock 73-67 on Sunday night, handing them their 18th consecutive defeat
– the longest losing streak in WNBA history.
Parker also grabbed a team high nine rebounds, stole the ball twice and blocked two shots. The 25-year-old, who is averaging 17.5 points and 9.3 rebounds per game, finished with 9 for 14 shooting from the field, including 2 for
3 from three-point range.
DeLisha Milton-Jones also added 15 points, seven rebounds and two steals in the victory while Kristi Toliver came off the bench with 14 points, three rebounds and three assists as Los Angeles bounced back from their disappointing
loss to Minnesota Lynx in the previous game.
Sheryl Swoopes led Tulsa with 17 points on a 6 for 12 shooting from the field. Swoopes also pulled down six rebounds in the loss. Jennifer Lacy had 13 points while Ivory Latta totalled 11 points, six assists and three steals. Tiffany
Jackson grabbed 11 rebounds for Shock.
Los Angeles shot 46.2 percent (24 for 52) from the field and 85.0 percent (17 for 20) from free throw line while Tulsa shot just 41.1 percent (23 for 56) from the floor and 70.0 percent (14 for 20) from the line. Shock were dominant
on the glass and pulled down 31 rebounds as compared to just 25 by the Sparks.
With so much at stake, Tulsa got off to a solid start and carried a 26-17 lead at the end of first quarter. Leading by nine points after first ten minutes, Shock limited Los Angeles to 15 points in the second quarter and stretched
their lead to 13 points, 45-32, at halftime.
However, it all went awry for the Shock after the break. Sparks came out strong in the third quarter and outscored Tulsa 21-9, cutting the halftime deficit to just one, 54-53. Los Angeles then opened the fourth quarter on a 13-3
run and went ahead by 67-56. Although, Shock tried hard to mount some sort of a fight back, all their efforts were neutralized by Sparks, who hung tough maintained their lead down the stretch to seal their 11th victory of this season.
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