The Sparks are 13-2 since Chamique Holdsclaws return. Juan Ocampo/NBAE/Getty

After starting the season with a 3-3 record, the Los Angeles Sparks seemed as though they were no longer the invinvible force we saw earlier in the decade. They lacked consistency, they lacked an edge and they lacked another scorer. It seemed like they were missing a piece to the puzzle, that one player who could help Lisa Leslie carry the team as they were set to make another championship run.

Then that missing piece arrived for the seventh game and the Sparks have been on fire since. When All-Decade Honorable Mention forward Chamique Holdsclaw returned from spending time with her family in early June, Los Angeles finally got the spark that it desperately needed.

The Sparks went on to win eight games in a row following Holdsclaw's return and vaulted to the top of the Western Conference standing. In total, Los Angeles has won 13 of its last 15 games and hold a 16-5 overall record. Chamique, who is coming off the bench for the first time in her eight-year career, is second on the team only behind Leslie in both points per game and rebounds per game. The three time NCAA champion back at the University of Tennessee is currently averaging of 15.3 points and 6.7 rebounds on the season.

Last week, the 1998 Rookie of the Year helped lead the Sparks to a 3-1 record while averaging 16 points, 7 rebounds and 2.3 assists over that span, including a team-high 19 point, 12 rebound performance in a 66-64 win over the Charlotte Sting on Saturday while Lisa Leslie was not on the floor. Holdsclaw also led the Sparks in scoring with 19 points in a win over the Houston Comets on Wednesday, and in rebounding with seven boards in a losing effort to the San Antonio Silver Stars on Monday.

Holdsclaw currently ranks No. 12 in the WNBA in points per game (15.3) and No. 10 in rebounds per game (6.7). She also ranks No. 6 in offensive rebounds per game with an average of 2.6 and No. 8 in free-throw percentage while shooting 87.8 percent.

Week Six
Date	Opp	Result	Min	FG	3P	FT	OFF	DEF	TOT	AST	ST	BL	TO	PF	PTS
Jul 5	at Comets	74-62 W	30	8-14	0-0	3-3	1	3	4	2	1	1	2	3	19
Jul 7	vs Fever	72-60 W	31	9-12	0-0	0-0	1	4	5	2	0	0	2	4	18
Jul 8	vs Sting	66-64 W	32	7-20	1-1	4-4	6	6	12	0	2	0	1	2	19