SPARKS ARE EXTINGUISHED BEST RECORD DOESN'T TRANSLATE IN PLAYOFFS SACRAMENTO 73, SPARKS 58.Byline: Ben Villa Staff Writer The Sparks didn't lose their WNBA WNBA Women's National Basketball Association WNBA World Ninepin Bowling Association WNBA Wannabe Nasty Boys Association WNBA Women's National Book Association, Inc. WNBA Warszawski Nurt Basketu Amatorskiego first round series against the Sacramento Monarchs The Sacramento Monarchs is a Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) team based in Sacramento, California. The team is one of the WNBA's eight original franchises and was noted early on for standout players Ticha Penicheiro, Ruthie Bolton and Yolanda Griffith. as much as they gave it away. Tangela Smith Tangela Nicole Smith (born April 1, 1977 in Chicago, Illinois) is an American basketball player in the WNBA currently playing for the Phoenix Mercury. Highschool years , DeMya Walker DeMya Chakheia Walker (born November 28, 1977 in Mount Holly, New Jersey) is a professional basketball player from the United States. She currently plays for the Sacramento Monarchs in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). and Kara Lawson Kara Marie Lawson (born February 14, 1981 in Alexandria, Virginia) is a professional basketball player for the Sacramento Monarchs of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). Lawson primarily plays as a shooting guard. each scored 17 points and Lisa Leslie * Its neutrality is disputed. * It may contain original research or unverifiable claims. * It does not cite any references or sources. . The Monarchs will host Seattle during Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals on Friday while the Sparks, who were looking to advance to the conference finals for the fourth consecutive year, saw their season come to and end in disappointing fashion. The Sparks committed 21 turnovers and the Monarchs capitalized on them, scoring 17 points off them. ``In Game 2, we knocked down shots and today we didn't and that was the story right there,'' Leslie said. ``Plus, we committed way to many turnovers tonight and we didn't execute down the stretch. ``We still feel like we're the best team in the WNBA but at the same time, you've got to give Sacramento credit. Their big line-up gave us problems.'' After beating the Sparks by 20 points in Game 1 and barely losing in Gae 2, the Monarchs came out on Tuesday night looking anything but a No. 4 seed playing the team with the best record in the WNBA regular season. They took a 36-33 lead at halftime after shooting 50 percent from the field and in the second half, they played even better. The Monarchs used a powerful front line that consists of several 6-foot-4 players like Smith and Yolanda Griffith Yolanda Evette Griffith (born March 1, 1970 in Chicago, Illinois) is an American professional basketball player currently playing for the Sacramento Monarchs of the WNBA. She is sometimes called by her nicknames: "Yo" and "Yo-Yo". to take a 10-point with 9:07 remaining in the game after Edna Campbell made a jumper. The Sparks tried to come back, cutting the Monarchs lead to 57-50 with 5:57 left in the game after Mwadi Mabika made a 3-pointer but every time they tried to make a run, Sacramento would grab a rebound and put it back in to stop their momentum. Leslie, who'll probably win her second MVP (Multimedia Video Processor) A high-speed DSP chip from Texas Instruments, introduced in 1994. Officially introduced as the TMS320C80, it combines RISC technology with the functionality of four DSPs on one chip. award this season, had an especially frustrating time this series, never scoring more than 13 points in a game and tonight, she went almost five minutes in the second half without even toughing the ball because the Monarchs were constantly double and triple teaming her. ``We pride ourselves on playing good defense and tonight we had 14 steals and 21 turnovers,'' Monarchs coach John Whisenant said. ``If we play Leslie and Mabika one-on-one, we're not going to win, they're too gifted. Our plan coming in was to play nine players, keep everybody fresh and wear them down.'' Late in the second half, it was apparent Whisenant scheme had paid off. The Sparks went through long stretches were they never scored and wound up shooting just 38 percent from the field. Mabika led the Sparks in scoring with 19 points while Nikki Teasley had 11. Yolanda Griffith also had 14 points and eight rebounds for the Monarchs who had lost to the Sparks three of the previous five years in the playoffs. CAPTION(S): 2 photos Photo: (1 -- color) Mwadi Mabika of the Sparks drives past Sacramento's DeMya Walker in the second half of Tuesday's WNBA playoff game. (2) The Sparks' Christi Thomas battles for a loose ball with Sacramento's Tangela Smith in the first half Tuesday. Edna T. Simpson/Daily News |
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