LADIES CAN DUNK IT, TOO LESLIE HAS FIRST-EVER WNBA SLAM IN RARE HOME LOSS TO SOL MIAMI 82, SPARKS 73.Byline: Joe Stevens Staff Writer Lisa Leslie WNBA World Ninepin Bowling Association WNBA Wannabe Nasty Boys Association WNBA Women's National Book Association, Inc. WNBA Warszawski Nurt Basketu Amatorskiego . Leslie thought the same thing. She dribbled to the basket and with her right hand threw down the first dunk in the six-year history of the women's league Women's League (in Swedish: Kvinnoligan) was a feminist organization in Sweden, based in Lund. It was founded in 1970. It consisted of autonomous basis units. Its policies were largely similar to Grupp 8. The organization was dissolved in 1973. . Fans jumped to their feet. The Sparks bench roared. And in the next play stoppage, Leslie's teammates surrounded Leslie in a purple-and-gold sea of hugs and high fives. It was about the only thing that went right for the Sparks all night. Leslie's historic dunk with 4:44 left in the first half came during the Sparks' 82-73 loss to the Miami Sol The Miami Sol was a women's Basketball team which joined the Women's National Basketball Association in 2000. They played their games at AmericanAirlines Arena. The team folded after the 2002 season because of financial problems. They were the former sister team to the Miami Heat. on Tuesday. Implementing a menacing zone defense and shooting an impressive 57.7 percent, the Sol surprised the 13,141 at Staples Center This article has multiple issues: * Its neutrality is disputed. * It may contain original research or unverifiable claims. * It does not cite any references or sources. with its sound win. It was just the Sparks' second loss at home in their past 35 regular-season games. But this game will be remembered for Leslie's dunk, which pulled the Sparks to within nine at 36-27. ``There's been so much pressure and talk about it around the All-Star Game An all-star game is an exhibition game played by the best players in their sports league. The players are often chosen by a popular vote of fans of the sport and the game often occurs at the halfway point of the regular season, although this is not the case for some all-star games , and finally, the situation presented itself and it came - I don't even know how,'' said Leslie, who dunked three times during an All-Star Game practice this season. ``I just turned around and I was free. So I was like, 'All right. Let me go for it.' It was a good dunk. I thought it was hard enough.'' It was one highlight in a game lacking many highlights for the Sparks (20-5). They never had a lead and trailed by as many as 19 points in the second half. With 1:05 left, Marlies Askamp Marlies Askamp (born on August 7, 1970 in Dorsten, Recklinghausen, of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany) is a German professional basketball player. She was one of the original players to play in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). made a layup off a pass from Leslie to pull the Sparks to 75-70. But that was the closest they came. The Sol (12-14) answered with a wild basket by Pollyanna Johns Kimbrough with 31.5 seconds left. Right before the shot clock expired, Kimbrough corralled a loose ball and scored at the buzzer. Sparks coach Michael Cooper was angry after the loss, upset by a lackluster game from his team. ``We got our (butts) kicked from start to finish by a team fighting for a playoff spot,'' Cooper said. ``We thought we were at home and thought we could cruise against the Sol, and we were wrong.'' Even though Cooper was upset with the loss, he recognized that the game will be remembered for its innovative moment in the WNBA - Leslie's dunk. ``I think the ladies really messed up a historical moment in women's basketball with Lisa Leslie's first dunk,'' Cooper said. ``It had me off the bench. I was excited about it. I was raring rar·ing also rar·in' adj. Informal Full of eagerness; enthusiastic. [Present participle of dialectal rare, to rear, variant of rear2. to go. So this is a tough one to lose, just because of the reason that she did that. That's a game that we should've won.'' CAPTION(S): photo Photo: The Sparks' Lisa Leslie dunks the ball during the first half of the Sparks' 82-73 loss to the Miami Sol on Tuesday. It was the first slam in the history of the WNBA. Diandra Jay/Staff Photographer |
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