Los Angeles, Ca – The WNBA All Star break has been a second coming for these Los Angeles Sparks who just beat the 1st place Minnesota Lynx 83-61. Sparks Coach Brian Agler has to be ecstatic with the starting five he can put on court now. Candace Parker back from her rest leading the team with a double- double 18 points, 13 rebounds in only her four game of action. Alana Beard back off injured list from an ankle sprain poured in 10 points and 7 assists.
Parker being back on the court the Sparks now have 3-1 record, with tonight’s home win. The team wore their Pink uniforms for Breast Care Awareness night. The crowd was full with fans showing their awareness. In these pink uniforms the ball movement was flowing smoothly with the players in right positions and bench players now being able to give short relief verse having the pressure to score in double digits.
On a quiet night for the Lynx Maya Moore only mustard up 13 points, that were all from first half. The Lynx offense just didn’t catch fire finishing with 40% shooting as team from the field. The five team three pointers kept them close until 4th quarter when the Sparks outscored them 23-10. Lynx Guard Lindsay Whalen hung tough with good defense on the ball and 13 points of her own. As the game went on you could see their coach was not happy with their play tonight. Seimone Augustus was out and didn’t travel with the team with a sore right knee.
So now the question will be, how good can this team be? Jantel Lavendar C, Nneka Ogwemike F, Candace Parker F, Alana Beard G, & Kristi Toliver G, this is what Agler signed up for. This combo of five with help off the bench has the ability to run the table. The team shot 48% from the field with only 2 three pointers on the night. They made their home in the paint with this big lineup, 54 points in the paint. Then the Sparks topped that off with additional 14 2nd chance points. Now time to see this team continue to gel and build its character.
The Sparks will have a day off tomorrow to rest before coming back to Staples Center to host Tulsa Shock at 7:30 pm PST on August 6th.
