Kristi Toliver and Candace Parker chip in with 18 points each to LA get past Washington Mystics and put an end to a three game losing streak .....
Coming into Friday night, the Los Angeles Sparks had lost three straight games. But that streak did not last long and Candace Parker and Kristi Toliver scored 18 points each to help their team come out 96-68 winners against Washington
Mystics at the Verizon Center.
Alana Beard, a former Mystics player, also had a good game with 16 points to her name as she helped the Sparks get ready for the playoffs, which are just around the corner.
“We needed it,'' Beard said. ``This was a great game to get back on track with and sort of get back to basic and do the little things that we've been doing all season.''
It was an overall great team performance from LA who dominated Washington in almost every aspect of the game. They out-rebounded the Mystics 39-29 and played extremely well in transition.
The overall distribution of the ball was very good from the Sparks, who continued to work around the Mystics defence throughout the night. Good ball movement led to easy opportunities as the whole of LA team managed to dish out
26 assists – a fact Washington coach Trudi Lacy acknowledged after the game.
“They share the ball and they run everything through Candace Parker,'' Lacy said. ``It's a tough loss. They have a lot of weapons.''
Just looking at the score line, it can be assumed that the Sparks dominated proceedings from the go. However, that wasn’t the case and the game was extremely competitive in the first 7 and a half minutes. It was only in the final
minutes of the opening stanza when LA came into their own as they closed out with a 13-2 run on their way to a 32-20 advantage.
Washington came back strong to start off the second quarter, opening up with a 10-4 run to cut the deficit down to 6. But an 11-0 response from LA saw things get back to normal as the Sparks took a 54-39 lead into the break.
A 11-4 run to start the second half saw the Sparks further prolong their advantage making the rest of the game merely a formality as LA made their way to 96-68 victory, in the end.
The dismal run continues for Washington, who have now lost their 7 consecutive games. Monique Currie and Jasmine Thomas provided some resistance in the game by contributing 16 and 15 points respectively.
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