Sun-Sparks Preview

By MATT BECKER
Posted Aug 02 2011 3:41PM

The Los Angeles Sparks are likely happy to return home following another disappointing road trip.

The Sparks probably aren't too thrilled, however, about kicking off a season-high six-game homestand Wednesday against Tina Charles and the surging Connecticut Sun.

Los Angeles (7-11) is coming off a 1-3 trip and has played 11 of its previous 13 away from Staples Center. The Sparks are three games out of the postseason cutoff in the Western Conference but hope to take advantage of playing 11 of their final 16 at home.

Los Angeles is 4-2 on its own court - the fewest amount of home games played in the league - but all of those wins came with Candace Parker in the lineup and the losses occurred after her right knee injury.

The Sparks have dropped eight of 11 since Parker went down, a stretch that started with a 79-76 loss to the Sun on June 28. Los Angeles played Connecticut tough in a game featuring 10 lead changes, but in the end it had no answer for stopping Charles.

The 6-foot-4 Charles finished with 22 points and tied a career high with 23 rebounds, one behind Chamique Holdsclaw's league record of 24 set May 23, 2003.

That wasn't the first time the reigning WNBA Rookie of the Year completely dominated the Sparks.

In a 78-75 win at Staples Center on June 18, 2010, Charles finished with 26 points on 13-of-15 shooting and grabbed 19 rebounds - seven fewer than the entire Los Angeles team.

Charles notched her 11th double-double of the season in Sunday's 99-92 win over Atlanta, finishing with 10 points and 11 rebounds. Renee Montgomery led the way with 19 points and Asjha Jones added 17, including eight in the final 3:50 to help the Sun finish the game on a 16-8 run.

Connecticut (11-6), which trailed by 10 points in the third quarter, forced 20 turnovers and made 20 of 29 foul shots in winning for the fifth time in six games.

"I thought we forced turnovers, we got to the free-throw line, and we hung in the game when it looked pretty bleak," coach Mike Thibault said.

While Thibault thought things looked bad for his team, that's nothing compared to what Los Angeles endured in Sunday's 98-63 loss to Indiana, as it fell behind by as many as 41 points.

Ebony Hoffman, who spent the previous seven seasons with the Fever, had a team-high 23 points for the Sparks, whose starting five was outscored 57-34 by Indiana's reserves.

"I know how Indy plays, and I don't think our team was ready for it," Hoffman said.

Los Angeles now tries to prepare for facing a Connecticut team that will likely try to feed the ball down low to Charles.

Kristi Toliver led the Sparks with 19 points in the first meeting, while Tina Thompson struggled to find her shot, finishing with seven points and shooting 3 of 12 from the floor.

Charles leads Sun to 79-70 win over Sparks

Posted Aug 03 2011 6:28PM

LOS ANGELES (AP) Tina Charles had 20 points and 13 rebounds, and the Connecticut Sun controlled the fourth quarter to beat the Los Angeles Sparks 79-70 on Wednesday.

It was the fourth straight double-double and 12th of the season for Charles, the reigning WNBA rookie of the year.

Renee Montgomery hit four 3-pointers and scored 16 points for the Sun (12-6), who used a 12-0 run to start the fourth in winning for the sixth time in seven games.

Connecticut won its third straight on the road after starting the season 1-5 away from home. The triumph moved the Sun within one game of first-place Indiana in the Eastern Conference.

``This is the only team I think we've trailed against at halftime both times and won,'' Connecticut coach Mike Thibault said. ``Just to kind of stick with it shows how much our defense is improving.''

Tied 56-56 heading into the fourth, Charles hit a free throw and later added a pair of jumpers during the run, resulting in a 68-56 lead. The Sun's defense held the Sparks scoreless for 4 1/2 minutes.

``We always try to start with the defense, especially on the road,'' Charles said. ``It starts with rebounding, boxing out and all those little things. And we were able to do that.''

DeLisha Milton-Jones had 14 points to lead the Sparks (7-12), who were playing the first of a season-high, six game-homestand. Tina Thompson and Ebony Hoffman scored 13 points apiece.

Milton-Jones hit a jumper to end the Sparks' scoring drought and followed with a layup on the next possession to cut it to 68-60 with 4:57 left. The Sparks trailed 71-65 after Kristi Toliver's 3-pointer with 3:08 remaining, but Charles answered with a jumper.

Charles, who recently earned her first All-Star selection, leads the league with 10.6 rebounds per game. She had just seven points and six rebounds at halftime before asserting herself down the stretch.

``My team was down, I just want to win. I'm really competitive,'' Charles said. ``I want to let my team know that I'm there for them and I just want their respect.''

Montgomery had missed her last 11 shots from 3-point range coming in. She hit three 3s in the second quarter, the last of which put the Sun ahead 33-32 after they trailed by as many as nine.

Since winning the first two games under Joe Bryant, the Sparks have dropped six of their past seven. Bryant took over as head coach for Jennifer Gillom on July 10.

Jenna O'Hea gave the Sparks their biggest lead at 25-16 when she was fouled while making a layup with 7:44 left in the second. The Sparks shot 50 percent in the first half and led 40-35 at the break.

• Sun: --
• Sparks: --

• Sun: --
• Sparks: --

• Lead Changes: 8
• Times Tied: 5

• Arena: Staples Center, Los Angeles, CA
• Officials: #8 Daryl Humphrey, #13 Cameron Inouye, #27 Penny Davis
• Attendance: 14266
• Duration: 1:51