Maya Moore just barley gets past Jennifer Lacy on drive to basket in the 2nd qtr. Photo by Jevone Moore
Los Angeles, CA- The Minnesota Lynx (4-1) gain another victory after tonight’s win of 67-52 over the Los Angeles Sparks (0-3). The game had a fast pace in the beginning with the Los Angeles Sparks controlling the ball. Marianna Tolo kicked off the game scoring the first 2 points and continued scoring most of the shots for the 1st half. Jantel Lavender and Jennifer Hamson contributed much to the second quarter points. Lavender closing out the first half with a challenging 2-pointer at the ring of the buzzer. Ending 1st half score of 28-23 Sparks.
The beginning of the second half looked promising for the Sparks with Jennifer Lacy kicking off the 3rd quarter scoring the first 2 points, but as the game continued the players looked fatigued. Tolo had a swift interception then scoring a basket. It wasn’t enough to hold off Asjha Jones and Seimone Augustus as they came back scoring baskets of their own.
Sparks Jennifer Lacy on a drive in the Second Half. Photo by Jevone Moore
The 3rd quarter ended with the Lynx coming back 46-37. The 4th quarter started out well for Lynx players. Lavender and Tolo tried to bang on the boards, but came up short with the Sparks losing control of the ball frequently. Seimone Augustus and Moore brought it home for Minnesota scoring 3-pointers in the last 2 minutes. Erin Philips and Farhiya Abdi tried to bring the Sparks out of the hole in the last seconds scoring the last 2 possessions, but were unsuccessful, ending the game with a score of 67-52 Lynx.
The Sparks were not fazed by the lose Phillips says, “I thought the team has done better when analyzing the last three games, but fatigue is what plagued the team during the second half and that it is early in the season.”, “We’ll get there.” Lavender thought the players, “We got comfortable, but we are a work in progress.”
Jantel Lavender in the paint for 2 of team leading 12 points. Photo by Jevone Moore
Sparks head coach Brian Agler believed that fatigued was the down fall, too, and that the Lynx were good opponents. He says for improving in the next games “We will stay the course, we had some injured players, but we’re improving…we’re not going to hang our heads and keep moving forward.” Agler added the Sparks will be more assertive in plays and working on improvements in defense and fluidity in offense.
Farhiya Abdi Inserted into the starting line up, elevating for a basket finishing the game with 7 points. Photo by Jevone Moore
Los Angeles Sparks will host Connecticut Sun Sunday June 21st at 2 pm PST at Staples Center.
More Game Photos from this game can be viewed at Full Image 360
Sparks Jantel Lavender looking to protect the paint against rookie Jewell Lyod. Photo by Jevone Moore
LA Sparks leader Alana Beard driving on Jenna O’Hea in first half. Photo by Jevone Moore
Los Angeles, Ca-The Los Angeles Sparks (0-2) drop a tough one at home to the Seattle Storm (2-0) 60-54. The Sparks controlled the pace of the game for more than 30 minutes before giving up first lead of the game in 4th quarter with 4:14 left on the clock and now down 53-50. Seattle’s Abby Bishop hit the open three point and her teammates never looked back.
Sparks Jantel Lavender started off game strong with first four points of game to put team with 4-0 lead. Lavender played big minutes and finishing with team high 12 points, but was not featured in second half enough to punish in the paint. Their backcourt played solid with 10 points each Alana Beard & Erin Phillips.
The Sparks could of used the defensive prow less and scoring power of Nneka Ogwumike out sprained ankle. Storm forward Abby Bishop lead her team with 18 points (four 3 pointers) & 3 rebounds. Forward Alysha Clark was in paint all night on defense end with 8 rebounds and being yin & yang of Bishop.
Storm’s bench was strong in second half with Jewell Loyd with 10 points and some hard drives to the basket. Loyd a rookie out of Norte Dame will be soon move into the starting lineup for Seattle if her game continues. Head Coach Jenny Boucek of the Storm was able to beat her mentor Agler to spread her wings as the new boss.
Head Coach of the Sparks Brian Agler will be making adjustment to cover the pick in roll and have defense crash down in the lane more that hurt in second half. In first half the Sparks held the Storm to 30% shooting from field compared to strong 50% of the Sparks. The Storm raised their shooting percentage from field to 38.9% while the Sparks fell to 38.6% for the game.
Owner of LA Sparks Magic Johnson & wife Cookie take time to Chat with Lakers great Kobe Bryant at the game. Photo by Jevone Moore
Fans have no reason to panic off the slow start to season because they will only get more exercise and better with these tough games. The reserves first off the bench guard Temeka Johnson brought veteran leadership & instinct scoring at times. Playing a bigger role as well Farhiya Abdi with timely 7 points.
The LA Sparks will host Minnesota Lynx and Maya Moore this Tuesday June 16th 7:30pm at Staples Center.
SMC Family 2011 Attacking Field to Start Reign. Photo by Jevone Moore
WRITTEN BY JOSH SHURE
Antelope Valley. Win. Glendale. Win. West LA. Win. LA Valley. Win. LA Southwest. Win. Santa Barbara. Win. LA Pierce. Win.
The Santa Monica College Corsairs’ football won all seven of their conference games in the 2014-15 season.
After four seasons consisting of 27 straight Western State Conference wins and four consecutive conference championships for the Corsairs, led by coach Gifford Lindheim, are looking to add a fifth title to the resume.
“In order to continue to be successful, we have to stay true to the process,” said Lindheim.
Coach Lindheim’s winning formula has proven to be a success by translating into wins on the field.
“[We] recruit the very best players and people we possibly can and coach them as well as we possibly can,” Lindheim said.
During his four year reign at the top of the WSC, Lindheim collected four consecutive Coach of the Year honors.
Coach Lindheim’s process of bring out the untapped potential of his recruits, has proven successful by giving a stage for talented players to shine and find a way to continue on their football careers at NCAA Division-One programs across the nation.
His alumni include: Paris Bostick (Oregon), DeJuan Butler (Hawaii), Melvin Davis (Hawaii) from the 14-15 season; QuJuan Butler (Iowa State), Dontae Livingston (East Carolina) from the 13-14 season; Alfonso Medina (Weber State), Marcus Manley (California) from the 12-13 season and Alexandru Ceachir (UCLA), Aaron Boesch (San Diego State) and David Mayo (Texas State/ Carolina Panthers draft pick) from the 11-12 season.
Carolina Panther Rookie David Mayo Zeroing in for the Big Hit in 2011. Photo By Jevone Moore
“At a JC where there is basically a 2 year player cycle, the only thing guaranteed to happen is change. Our roster is constantly changing for various reasons. That’s the nature of Junior College,” elaborated Lindheim.
“We’re always trying to find the pieces to the puzzle each year and continually looking to upgrade our personnel and our program.” Lindheim is confident of the talent of the team he sees thus far. “Our strength looks to be at QB and WR, DL, and CB,” Lindheim said.
For the upcoming season, the Corsairs look to be lead by recent University of Washington transfer, former #1 high school dual-threat quarterback in the nation back in 2013, Troy Williams.
Williams experienced playing in several Division-One football games while at Washington; getting to play against ranked teams, Arizona State and University of Oregon last season.
In the wide receiver position, SMC will utilize the talents of two players receiving plenty of interest from higher level football programs across the country. Deon Hall and Cameron Chambers are attracting the attention of scouts from universities from University of Southern California to University of Colorado and Louisiana Tech.
Both of those players will likely continue on to play higher levels of football in the near future.
Returning for the defensive line for the Corsairs, Freeman Coleman from Omaha, Nebraska, a player who out of high school attracted the interest of grandfather programs like University of Nebraska and Michigan.
Impact player, defensive back, Keino Mitchell will look to shine in the secondary. Previously in high school, he caught the eyes of Boise State, Utah, Arizona and San Jose State but never got the chance to play for any of those programs.
Tentatively those are simply a few names to watch out for, but as Lindheim puts it, “we still have many players that are scheduled to join us this summer. There is a lot of competition that needs to take place this Summer and through Fall camp.”
“One of the things that we do is to coach the entire football team each and every practice,” Lindheim stated. Will the Corsairs football team be able to continue it’s success and conquer the conference again?
Coach Lindheim is definitely coaching up each and every player on his team because as he puts it, the growth “allows us to be better prepared for uncertainties.”
LA Kiss MVP DB Rayshaun Kizer in daylight with a Pick 6 to secure the victory. Photo by Jevone Moore
Anaheim, Ca-The LA Kiss get their first of the season over National Conference opponent The Portland Thunder 52-40. This team just need to be back home and didn’t hurt to have their starting quarterback Adrian McPherson back under center. McPherson looked good after long injury layoff, 5 touchdowns, 240 yards passing, 55% completion and 32 yards rushing for the game.
LA Kiss QB Adrain McPherson dropping back in pocket feeling comfortable. Photo by Jevone Moore
The LA Kiss defense was huge in this game, keeping Portland to only 40 points on the scoreboard. The when really dig into numbers the defense really only gave up 4 touchdowns. The other two came on back to back kickoff returns by shifty fast Duane Brooks who vision and speed was superior on special teams.
The defensive MVP for the game was Rayshaun Kizer who kicked down the down on tonight’s win with a late 4th quarter pick 6 interception to cancel any hope Portland had for a comeback. Kizer lead his team with 8.5 tackles, 1 break up and 2 interceptions to cap off a complete game. Defensive End Dajohn Harris (Serra HS) was keeping pressure on Portland QB Kyle Rowley all night and added 1 yard tackle for a loss.
Defensive End Dajohn Harris (#16 Serra High School) bring the pressure.
Portland had a solid game behind strong arm Rowley who had 233 yards with 4 touchdowns. Portland playing from behind all night after first and only lead 7-0. V’Keon Lacey was Rowley main target with 8 catches for 101 yards. Just think if Portland didn’t have their stat man Brooks 252 all purpose yards and 4 touchdowns.
Portland Thunder explosive kick returner / wide receiver flying past the kickoff team. Photo by Jevone Moore
This team has been kicking and crawling all season leaving it all out on the field. No one had a bigger smile of relief on his face then Kiss head coach Bob McMillen. Today the team played a complete game for all four quarters and results was a huge lift off their shoulders. Captain Donovan Morgan competed like always turning in another consistent game with 3 touchdowns on seven catches. DeMarco Sampson was team play tonight being the wildcat qb during goal line and punched in a two yard score just before half to set the tone.
Today’s win will be seen as a turning point for this LA Kiss team. Coach will look for this great feeling to spill over into practice this week. The Kiss will travel to San Jose to face the Sabercats next Saturday June 13th and will return home the following week June 20th 8pm verse Philadelphia Soul.
‘A man’s mind plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps and makes them sure.’
Proverbs 16:9
Many times we go through life making lots of plans, having dreams in our hearts that we’ve carried since we were little kids. It is great to dream, and very important to plan, but remember, God orders our steps..
When things don’t happen the way you’ve planned or expected them to, don’t lose heart.. God knows what is best for you, and although you may not understand why the things you’ve worked so hard at getting accomplished haven’t taken you further, trust God, and know that His plan for your life is SURE.
Don’t fight it, let go and let God!
You are right where you are meant to be!
Say this prayer with me:
Dear Lord, I have made many plans for my life, and I have many dreams in my heart.
I place those plans and dreams in Your hand, and ask You to have Your way in my life. I surrender, and I trust You Lord. In the name of Jesus, Amen.
Jacksonville’s Greg Reid at the right place but wrong time for the Kiss. Photo by Jevone Moore
Anaheim, Ca- The crowd was on their feet, music blaring with the home crowd energy willing the LA Kiss in game final moments. Jacksonville’s player of game Greg Reid (#21) fittingly intercepts the final pass of the game to secure the victory 41-35. The LA Kiss started their last drive with 45 seconds on clock and only 30 yards away from their first victory of the season. They went for 6 plays and 21 yards to leave them 9 yards and 6 points short.
The Jacksonville Sharks came in setting the tone early, on the second play from scrimmage with 40 yard touchdown pass to Anthony Jones. Jones finished the game with a team high 122 yards on 9 catches. Before the first quarter was finished the Sharks had 21-0 lead.
Donovan Morgan finding space in Jacksonville’s Secondary. Photo by Jevone Moore
This Kiss team didn’t back down tonight by jumping on the board in second quarter of play smart play calls. The Kiss drove ball down field in a west coast offensive style until capped two touchdown with 2 yard and 4 yard runs. Next the Kiss had the ball first after halftime, they were ready to steal the momentum. Team leader and Captain didn’t disappoint the fans with picking up critical first down catch by Donovan Morgan before middle linebacker in at running back took next play 5 yard touchdown. Now only trailing by seven points with the rest of the second half to play.
Today still belong to Sharks who really held on to this game by the many defensive plays by Reid who led his team with 8.5 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, 1 interception and tight coverage all night. During a late drive with Kiss down 35-28 when Reid just got a fingertip on ball to leave it out reach of DeMarco Sampson who led the Kiss with 11 catches on 104 yards. Both teams competed hard throughout this game making the fans fill the passion.
New Kick returner Laron Scott pulling away in 3rd quarter on a big return. Photo by Jevone Moore
New spark on team tonight was kick returner Laron Scott who also double as defensive back had 136 yards on returns , 6 tackles, 1 forced fumble and critical breakup in the fourth quarter. There was a lot of good individual plays and players tonight, the only thing next is to have it happen collectively from who team so they can capture that elusive win this season.
The Kiss will have some home cooking and no hard travel this week so expect big things next Sunday June 7th at 3pm when the host Portland Thunder.
‘To everything there is a season, and a time for every matter or purpose under heaven.’
Ecclesiastes 3:1
Conditions change all the time. What you could depend on yesterday, might very well be gone today.
What once worked so well for you, will eventually fail to bring the results you seek. So when conditions change, you have the valuable opportunity to change along with them.
Life, by its very definition, is always changing. People who make the most of life are those who expect the changes, welcome them, and find the positive possibilities in each one.
When you see changes occurring, instead of making a judgment, make a careful observation. You cannot stop changes the changes that are already taking place, so your best strategy is to find the opportunities that are embedded within them.
Rather than being fearful of the changes, embrace them.
You can count on the fact that the world will continue to change. The sooner you accept it, the better off you’ll be.
Los Angeles Sparks Staff 2015 (L-R) Assistant Curt Miller, General Manager Penny Toler, Head Coach Brian Agler, Assistant Amber Stocks
Los Angeles, Ca -A new season filled with new faces and a new attitude to spark them to a great 2015 season. These New Los Angeles Sparks will be lead by new head coach Brian Agler who knows a lot about post season play. Agler’s team had been in the Conference Semifinals six of last seven years and winning it all 2010 when team swept the entire post season play.
Equitrust Life Insurance Company has partnered with the Sparks as the marquee sponsor for this 2015 season. “Our partnership with the Sparks will provide EquiTrust with an opportunity to support our communities through service, outreach and innovation,” stated Earvin ” Magic” Johnson.
Sparks New Additions Temeka Johnson #2, Erin Phillips #31, Marianna Tolo #14, & Jennifer Lacy #21
The Sparks media day was filled with a buzz in air, smiles and a group that had few practices under their belt a sense of team forming. The roster filled with a good balance of new and old was put together by current General Manager Penny Toler. Toler said, “Built team adding shooters to take little pressure of post.” This should allow returning All Star Nneka Ogwumike to have more one on one situations to dominate down low as teams will be forced to double less.
The potential backcourt could have the speedy Temeka Johnson and Erin Phillips at times which are two great additions. Phillips making a business decision by leaving Phoenix to make a move to take her career to the next level. At the very least they will provide veteran leadership along with the other vets on team that will need to mentor the seven rookies fast during training camp. The coach staff was pleased by all the rookies thus far and all showed that they were ready to work hard and learn from their coaches.
Sparks Young Guns Nikki Greene #54, Elina Babkina #17, & Jennifer Hamson #5
This training camp will have Agler and his staff with many combinations to see what’s going to work best for the season and post season play. “I want a team that plays solid full court defense, we must be able to play two speeds (fast transitions ball / post season half court offense). Playoff basketball slows down and don’t have a lot of transition baskets when game slows down and have to play your best offensive and defensive sets. This way of thinking along with a winning track record is why Toler picked Agler to run this roster.
The Sparks will open their regular season on the road at Seattle Storm on June 6th before returning for their Home opener Sunday June 14 at Staples. The scheduling gods always look to a method to their madness with Agler facing his old team for opening tip off.
