SPARKS DOWN AGAIN L.A. COMES HOME TRAILING 1-0 IN CONFERENCE FINALS SACRAMENTO 77, SPARKS 69.

Byline: Joe Stevens Staff Writer

SACRAMENTO - The cowbells rang out with cacophonous clangs. Fans in purple wigs and purple garb repeatedly chanted ``Beat L.A.''

And the Sacramento Monarchs did just that.

The Monarchs put the Sparks on the brink of finishing their WNBA season by beating them 77-69 in Game 1 of the best-of-three Western Conference finals Friday night at Arco Arena. The Sparks got into a hole, did not make key shots in the final minutes and must win the next two games at home to advance to the WNBA finals.

In sharp contrast to the Sparks' downtrodden dressing room, coach Michael Cooper was relaxed, practically jovial, when he talked about his team's chances.

``The playoffs have just started, but they haven't begun yet because the playoffs don't start until one team wins on another team's court,'' Cooper said. ``They did exactly what they were supposed to do - win at home.''

But if Sacramento wins Sunday at Staples Center, the Sparks' season is kaput. And Sacramento sounds extremely confident. Counting the regular season, the Monarchs have beaten the Sparks three consecutive times.

The Monarchs are so confident that guard Ticha Penicheiro made an Arnold Schwarzenegger-like statement:

``We'll be back here again,'' she said.

Penicheiro was key to the Monarchs' victory. She averaged just 2.3 points in the Monarchs' first-round victory over the Houston Comets, but she scored 16 points on Friday.

Cooper said part of the game plan was to let Penicheiro shoot, and to his chagrin, she responded, making 5 of 9 shots. The Sparks limited Monarchs star Yolanda Griffith to eight shots, but she still scored a team-high 17 points.

The biggest problem for the Sparks was that they got into a 12-point deficit in the first half and were pounded on the boards. Sacramento had an 18-9 rebounding advantage in the first half and led 43-34 at halftime.

``Once again, our problem is not putting together 40 minutes,'' Sparks forward DeLisha Milton said. ``In the first half, we were kind of lax. On the defensive end, our intensity wasn't there. In the second half, we picked it up, and good things started happening for us.''

In the second half, the Sparks battled inside and were outrebounded 30-28 in the game. Lisa Leslie scored a game-high 25 points, and Milton added 20 points.

Although they only had one lead in the second half - 62-60 with 6:39 left - the Sparks put themselves in position for a comeback victory.

In the final minutes, though, Sacramento stayed on top. With the Sparks trailing 71-67, DeMya Walker scored on a layup in traffic to give Sacramento a 73-67 lead with 2:07 left.

The Sparks' Nikki Teasley responded with a similar layup to pull the Sparks to 73-69 with 1:31 left. After a defensive stop, the Sparks' Mwadi Mabika missed an open 3-pointer with 51 seconds left to cap an eight-point performance on 3-of-17 shooting.

The Sparks resorted to fouling to stop the clock, with the Monarchs making 4 of 4 free throws down the stretch.

Although the Sparks technically still have ``home-court advantage,'' it doesn't exactly feel that way to the team.

``Somehow this format is supposed to give us the advantage,'' Leslie said.

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Despite Lisa Leslie scoring a game-high 25 points, the Sparks lost Western Conference finals opener 77-69 in Sacramento.

Rich Pedroncelli/Associated Press