Los Angeles, Ca – Los Angeles pulls off the win over Phoenix in a championship fashion Sparks 90 Mercury 85.
The Sparks had a rough ride these last three games. With two oh so close you couldn’t believe they lost games against Minnesota and Atlanta. Then insult to injury when they were washed out by Seattle. Having their lowest scoring game of all season. But it looked like the Sparks got over the shock of it all to turn the ship upright for a win tonight.
The first-quarter saw the Sparks doing their best to set the tone and pace of the game by taking the lead nice and early. They stirred the pot with a few three-point shots and some solid rebounding on both ends of the court, which was the foundation they needed to lay.
By the second quarter the Mercury started to heat up with DeWanna Bonner coming on the court looking uncontainable. Bonner was hitting at the line, sinking three-pointers and had some solid jump shots with which she was able to tie up the game in three short minutes. Talking about making the most out of the time you have. Her team feeling her drive picked, up their efforts giving the Mercury eight point lead going into the half.
Come the third quarter Nneka Ogwuike was able to break loose and get multiple drives through the lane, and Jentel Lavender was more than happy to layup anything Nneka wasn’t getting her hands on.
But the fourth quarter Superstar had to be Chelsea Gray scoring 13 points in the fourth quarter alone. She is really coming into her own this season looking like a well rounded player. Chelsea was 5-6 at the line, 2-3 in three point country and had five assist. She also had a career-high game tonight with a total of 23 points. You could see this really took the pressure off of some of her teammates, like Nneka Ogwuike with 24 points and 10 rebounds and Jantel Lavender with 17 points.
Alana Beard might not have been the highest scoring player tonight, but she will be making it to the instant replay reel on all your favorite sports channels with her ridiculous snatch and grab steals and the infamous “not in my house” blocks.
Unfortunately the Phoenix Mercury needed this win far more then the Los Angeles Sparks did for their playoff position. To Phoenix’s credit they looked much improved since their last meet up with the Sparks but the stars were not aligned in their favor. The Sparks have one more regular-season game against San Antonio on September 16. The Sparks already have three wins against San Antonio this season let’s see if they can make it a sweep.
