LOS ANGELES-The Los Angeles Sparks owned the game early against the San Antonio Stars during their Memorial Day weekend contest played at Staples Center. The Stars fought back to get into the game when the Sparks became stagnant on the offensive end. The Sparks finally stopped messing around and finished the deal by putting a choke hold on the Stars’ offense in the fourth quarter, limiting San Antonio to just eight points in the period.
With a stout defensive defensive quarter, the Sparks scored 22 points in the fourth and final period to win their first home game of the season, claiming a 83-62 win. And it was the league reigning MVP that led the way for the Sparks. Candace Parker always shows up when her team needs her the most. With the Sparks struggling and looking for some offensive kick in the second half, Parker, who scored 23 points in the game, gave it to them.
Whether it was dishing off an assist after leading a fastbreak or dropping some impressive spin moves to the basket, Parker pretty much had enough of the Stars hanging out and put San Antonio away the way the best player in the league is supposed to. Besides Parker doing her thing, the bigger, stronger and more aggressive Sparks won the game with their interior play, scoring 48 points in the paint.
Reserve forward Jantel Lavender was the main catalyst, pouring 12 points off the bench on 6 of 9 shooting from the field to give the Sparks an offensive boost in the first half. Kristi Toliver scored 15 points. But it was the play of Parker that set the tone for the Sparks (2-1) to earn their second win of the young WNBA season.
The Sparks had dropped its first game of the season against the Phoenix Mercury. Parker made sure there wouldn’t be a repeat with a solid all-around game that included seven rebounds, six assists and four blocked shots. For Parker, it was just another a typical MVP day at the office.
Dennis has covered and written about politics, crime, social justice, sports, and entertainment. Dennis currently covers the NFL, MLB, NBA, NCAA, and Olympic sports. Dennis is the editor of News4usonline.com and serves as the publisher of the Compton Bulletin newspaper. He earned a journalism degree from Howard University.