Leslie scored all 14 of her points in the second half and added 14 rebounds and seven blocks as the Los Angeles Sparks began defense of their title with a 72-64 victory over the New York Liberty on Saturday.

NBA TV highlights from Liberty-Sparks: 56k | 300k

Last year, the Sparks ended the Houston Comets' four-year hold on the WNBA by roaring through the regular season with a 28-4 mark and storming to the title. The leader was Leslie, who won Most Valuable Player honors for both the regular season and WNBA Championship Series.

Lisa Leslie, who blocked seven shots, was a towering presence on defense. Andrew D. Bernstein/WNBAE/Getty Images

Before Saturday's nationally televised league season opener, Leslie and the rest of the Sparks received their championship rings.

"I almost had tears in my eyes when they put that Sparks banner up there with all the Laker titles and players," said Sparks coach Michael Cooper, who won five titles as a player with the Lakers in the 1980s.

"Did you see this ring?" Leslie said. "It's beautiful. Amazing. I said, 'I'm married now.'"

"I think the pregame ceremony let me know that it really capped everything off from last year," forward DeLisha Milton said. "It let me know we'd accomplished a lot of things that we had set out to accomplish. It's a great feeling."

But when the Sparks officially began their title defense, they muddled to a 31-30 deficit at halftime. No one struggled more than the 6-5 Leslie, who was double- and triple-teamed and did not score in the first half.

However, she came alive in the second half, when the Sparks took control. She scored a pair of baskets to end a 9-4 surge that gave Los Angeles a 49-42 lead with 12 minutes to play. Her shot-altering defense made sure New York got no closer than six points thereafter.

The Sparks also showed they are more than Leslie. Mwadi Mabika and newcomer Sophia Witherspoon scored 14 points each and Tamecka Dixon added 12 and seven assists. L.A. overcame the one-game suspension of Latasha Byears and held New York under 35 percent (24-of-69) from the field.

Vickie Johnson scored 19 points and Tamika Whitmore added 14 for the Liberty, who beat the Sparks in their only meeting last season. However, they remained winless in Los Angeles since July 21, 1998.

New York pulled within 56-49 with 7:25 to go on a layup by Korie Hlede. Witherspoon, a former member of the Liberty, answered with a three-pointer and added two free throws to extend the advantage to 65-51 with 4:26 left.