SACRAMENTO, Calif., June 2 (AP) -- DeMya Walker's pained howl rose above the din in the hushed arena. The Sacramento Monarchs' leading scorer was moving nothing except her vocal cords, crumpled on the court with an injured leg just a few minutes into their home opener.

The Monarchs' celebration of last season's conference championship and coach Jenny Boucek's debut ended right there, yet they still rallied from an inauspicious start for an 88-85 victory over the Los Angeles Sparks on Saturday night.

Nicole Powell had 19 points and eight rebounds, while Kara Lawson and Ticha Penicheiro scored 14 points apiece for the Monarchs after Walker was taken from the floor on a stretcher. Afterward, the players' minds all were with Walker, whose injury is thought to be serious - even though she returned to the bench on crutches with a large leg wrap in the second half.

"You work so hard for this season to get ready for this moment, and it's tough,'' Penicheiro said. "There's not a lot of celebration right now.''

Walker, also the Monarchs' leading scorer during their 2005 title run, hurt her right leg after Taj McWilliams-Franklin inadvertently stepped on her left foot while both players reached for a pass midway through the first quarter. Walker remained down for nearly 10 minutes before medical staff finally got her off the floor.

Walker's absence, coupled with a minor injury for Rebekkah Brunson, left Sacramento short of post players. But Boucek's club erased its size disadvantage with timely shooting, defense and a handful of clutch plays - all hallmarks of the Monarchs' four straight outstanding seasons under former coach John Whisenant, who turned over the team to Boucek this season.

"Chaotic,'' Boucek said when asked to describe her debut in front of a sellout Arco Arena crowd. "But that's sports. They're unpredictable. You have to make split-second decisions and do the best you can.''

After opening the season with two victories during a difficult four-game road trip, Sacramento wasn't safe until Powell stole the ball from Chamique Holdsclaw with two seconds left to quash the Sparks' final rally.

Rookie Sidney Spencer had 15 of her 22 points in the second quarter for Los Angeles, which got within 80-79 with 2:05 to play on a layup by Marta Fernandez, who had 15 points.

But Powell answered with a 3-pointer, and Penicheiro added a driving layup on Sacramento's next possession. Spencer hit her fourth 3-pointer of the night with 29 seconds left to cut the Monarchs' lead to one point again, but Yolanda Griffith drew a foul as the shot clock expired, then hit two free throws with 4 seconds left.

"I was just trying to get a shot - you know, 3-2-1, throw something up,'' said Holdsclaw, who lost the ball to Powell at midcourt right before the buzzer. "I'm not even sure what happened.''

Mwadi Mabika scored 18 points and Holdsclaw had 16 for the Sparks, who finished their own season-opening four-game trip with two wins.

The Monarchs unfurled a banner celebrating last season's Western Conference championship before the game. Sacramento lost the WNBA finals last season, blowing a 2-1 lead over the Detroit Shock.

Los Angeles took a 46-35 lead into halftime thanks to Spencer, who scorched the Monarchs for 17 first-half points after scoring just 11 in her first three WNBA games combined. Spencer was a 3-point specialist for Tennessee last season as the Lady Vols won the NCAA title, and the Sparks chose the 6-foot-3 shooter in the second round of the draft.

"A lot of our players were drawing double-teams, and that was leaving other players with open shots,'' Spencer said. "You can definitely tell (Sacramento) has great chemistry. They play real well together, and it showed down the stretch.''