SPARKS DRIVE TOWARD TITLE CONTINUES MATCHUP IN SACRAMENTO MAY BE TEAM'S TOUGHEST.

Byline: Pamela Lewis Staff Writer

SACRAMENTO - The Sparks' road to a possible WNBA championship shifts north tonight, when they open the best-of-three Western Conference finals against the Sacramento Monarchs at Arco Arena.

After sweeping the four-time champion Houston Comets in the first round, the Sparks face an even bigger threat in Sacramento, who feel a little slighted coming into the WNBA playoffs.

``Yeah, we conquered a great feat by beating Houston, but we have an even bigger one coming up in Sacramento,'' forward DeLisha Milton said. ``Because they are a team that has everyone they basically had from last year. They made trades to make themselves strong coming off the bench and they're very hungry, too.''

The Sparks won all three regular-season games, including one without the help of center Lisa Leslie, who was injured.

The Sparks' attention is divided between containing center Yolanda Griffith and protecting the perimeter, where the Monarchs have 3-point shooters in Kedra Holland-Corn, Edna Campbell and Ruthie Bolton-Holifield.

But the first order of business is controlling the boards, which Griffith has owned this season as the league's leading rebounder (an 11.2 average), especially on the offensive end where she gets a lot of her points on putbacks. The Sparks have won the battle on the boards all three times by a combined 18 rebounds.

``Obviously rebounding is also a big key,'' Sparks coach Michael Cooper said. ``If we're keeping (Griffith) off the boards, that means we're going to the boards and securing the rebound and then we have to get up and down the floor. We have to get into their second unit as quick as we can.

``They're a running team, they like to run on offense and she likes to be aggressive on the offensive boards. So we have to fight and box out just to get there. That's how we're trying to approach this, is just wear her down. I think if you can take the fight out of her a little bit, you can take the fight out of Sacramento. But all that is out the window, we just have to come compete.''

The Monarchs, like the Sparks, are looking for redemption. They were eliminated by the Sparks in a first-round shootout in the 1998 playoffs and were swept in the first round by Houston last year.

The Monarchs feel that some prognosticators didn't give them a chance of surviving the first round against the Utah Starzz, who won 10 of their last 12 games, including their season ender that ended the Sparks' win streak at 18. Sacramento set out to prove the pundits wrong and swept the Starzz.

``They pretty much said that Utah was going to put us away because they beat L.A.,'' Griffith said. ``Who knows, maybe L.A. had an off night, maybe it was Utah's night. It's just how it is. Now we're about to play L.A. It's going to be a tough series not only for us but also for them.''

Taking Game 1 is crucial for both teams in the series, especially with the 1-2 format.

``It is important to get L.A. here because they do have home-court advantage and they're pretty good at home. I think we match up good with L.A. All we have to do is knock our shots down, control the boards and we'll be OK,'' Griffith said.

The Sparks host Game 2 Sunday and, if necessary, Game 3 Monday, at Staples Center, where they are undefeated in 17 home games this season.

``From a coach's standpoint, you play your starters 40 minutes to get the win; you don't think about the series, you think about getting this first game,'' Cooper said. ``Obviously, it's on their home court, but we've been a very good road team. So we're going in there thinking, 'Get this first win,' and that will change the complexity of this series.''

WESTERN CONFERENCE FINALS

SPARKS VS. SACRAMENTO

SERIES SCHEDULE

--Today: Sparks at Sacramento, 6 p.m., ESPN 

--Sunday: Sacramento at Sparks, 6 p.m., Ch. 4

--Monday: Sacramento at Sparks, 7 p.m., if necessary

Matchup: Los Angeles Sparks vs. Sacramento Monarchs in first of a best-of-three WNBA semifinal series. Games 2 and 3 are at Staples Center.

Regular-season results: Sparks have won all three games, by scores of 83-68, 80-78 and 67-62.

Key personnel: The Sparks' Ukari Figgs had her best game against the Monarchs in the second meeting when Lisa Leslie sat out because of injury. Figgs picked up the slack and scored 15 points and had eight assists. Shooting guards Tamecka Dixon of the Sparks and Kedra Holland-Corn of Sacramento are among the league's best, while forwards Mwadi Mabika of the Sparks and Edna Campbell of the Monarchs have had some good battles. The center-position battle features Lisa Leslie of the Sparks and Yolanda Griffith of Sacramento, teammates on the 2000 Olympic team.

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WESTERN CONFERENCE FINALS (see text)