Storm-Sparks Preview

By JEFF BARTL
Posted May 21 2012 1:04PM

The Seattle Storm were well on their way to a season-opening victory before Kristi Toliver and the Los Angeles Sparks took over in the fourth quarter.

Los Angeles will look to carry over the momentum from Friday's stunning comeback victory into the rematch Tuesday night, while visiting Seattle will be seeking a much better result.

The Sparks (1-0) trailed by 21 with 2:48 remaining in the third quarter but Toliver led the charge in the fourth, scoring 10 of her game-high 25 points as Los Angeles outscored Seattle 30-10 in the final period of a 72-66 victory - the Storm's first season-opening loss since 2005.

``It's something that we haven't shown in the past. It's good to see this team show it from Game One,'' Toliver said. ``We started off slow and were able to fight back. It's something that doesn't come easy, so we're very proud of it.''

Candace Parker had 11 points for the Sparks, but shot 5 of 12 and was on the bench for the majority her club's comeback.

"We're a team and we play whoever is playing well at that moment," said Carol Ross, who won her WNBA head coaching debut after Los Angeles trailed 24-10 after the first quarter.

Toliver didn't start Friday and Ross wouldn't commit to starting her Tuesday despite the breakout performance.

"We're going to play a lot of people. That's just the way it goes," Ross said. "Toliver is always going to play a lot, whether she comes off the bench or whether she starts."

Toliver, who averaged a career-best 11.2 points in 2011, expects a drastic improvement from a 15-19 season that ended with Los Angeles missing the playoffs for the first time in four seasons.

"We want to be the No. 1 team in the (Western Conference), and in order to do that, we're going to have to win a lot of games on the West Coast," she said. "Of course, it's our first game so we're going to stay excited, we're going to be enthused.

"We've been waiting all year for the season to start. All we had was fight and we're going to have that same fight all season."

Seattle (0-1), playing without three-time league MVP Lauren Jackson as she prepares in Australia for the Olympics, committed 27 turnovers - fourth most in team history.

``I'm hoping that's as bad as we'll be in the fourth quarter,'' coach Brian Agler said. ``We don't want to see that again.''

Ann Wauters scored 17 points in her Storm debut and Sue Bird added 15.

"Sometimes losses have a way of pointing things out, where you need to work on things, but this one I would have rather learned with a win," Bird said. "It's very disappointing. It was a terrible game for us."

Bird scored 15 points in each meeting in Los Angeles last season, but the Sparks won both. Toliver had 11 points in a 74-50 victory June 19 and Parker netted a game-high 27 in a 68-62 win Aug. 30.

The teams split their four-game season series.

This matchup originally was scheduled for Saturday, but the date was changed because Staples Center was booked with multiple NBA and NHL playoff games through the weekend.

Sparks topple Storm 74-61

Posted May 23 2012 1:49AM

LOS ANGELES (AP) The Los Angeles Sparks didn't need to rally this time.

Candace Parker scored 21 points and 10 rebounds and Kristi Toliver added 18 to help the Sparks beat the Seattle Storm 74-61 on Tuesday night.

Alana Beard scored 13 points as the Sparks led from the first quarter after their big comeback victory against the Storm last Friday in which the Sparks erased a 21-point second half deficit.

Los Angeles led by double digits throughout the fourth quarter. Toliver made two 3-pointers in the final five minutes, the last to effectively seal it at 69-56.

``We didn't dig ourselves a hole today,'' Toliver said. ``I felt like we controlled the game the entire way. We're making progress. We're making steps. We're building forward. We're getting wins and still making mistakes and learning. We feel pretty good that we're able to learn and win at the same time.''

Los Angeles held Seattle to 38.6 percent shooting from the field and forced 19 turnovers. After a hot start the Sparks' offense cooled a bit but its defense held the Storm to 28 second-half points.

``Defensively, we were stingy, greedy and all the things you should be on the defensive end,'' first-year Sparks coach Carol Ross said. ``That's a good day's work from the defensive end. Offensively, we're just running a little behind there. But our defense is keeping us in it.''

Parker and Toliver stretched the lead to 60-45 in the final minute of the third. Parker brought the ball up court after Shekinna Stricklen's miss inside and fed Toliver for a 3-pointer. The Sparks got another stop and Parker came down and sank a 3-pointer.

``That was huge,'' Toliver said. ``You could definitely see Seattle feeling very defeated at that moment.''

Ann Wauters led Seattle with 15 points. Tina Thompson added 13. Seattle never got closer than five points behind from 8:21 of the third quarter.

More disconcerting is that the Storm has committed 41 turnovers in its first two games.

``I think it's maybe us continuing to try to get more familiar with each other,'' Sue Bird said. ``There's a little uncertainty at times. You have to give credit to L.A. They, once again, pressured us, and probably caused some of those turnovers. But you have to play through it.''

Bird and coach Brian Agler attributed the turnovers to that unfamiliarity. Seattle is 0-2.

``Of course it's not a nice pleasant feeling, how we feel right now,'' Bird said. ``But it is the only the second game of the season, and we know that even though it's a short season, you can't let two games dictate who we're going to be.''

The Sparks came out energized in the home opener, which was originally scheduled for Sunday but was moved because Staples Center hosted NBA and NHL playoff games over the weekend.

Parker scored nine of her team's first 13 points as the Sparks led from 11-9 to halftime. Seattle fell behind by 11 points but climbed back on a pair of Thompson 3-pointers in the final two minutes of the first half and trailed, 37-33.

``We're still trying to find our identity as a team,'' Agler said. ``I'm hoping it happens sooner than later. It's not panic mode.''

• Storm: --
• Sparks: --

• Storm: --
• Sparks: --

• Lead Changes: 0
• Times Tied: 1

• Arena: Staples Center, Los Angeles, CA
• Officials: #42 Roy Gulbeyan, #21 Byron Jarrett, #43 Brenda Pantoja
• Attendance: 10717
• Duration: 1:48