Sparks-Mercury Preview

By NOEY KUPCHAN
Posted Jun 22 2012 2:16PM

In the midst of another impressive season, former WNBA MVP Candace Parker could bring home a second piece of hardware if she can keep it up.

Parker and the visiting Los Angeles Sparks aim for a third consecutive victory overall and a third straight win over the injury-plagued Phoenix Mercury on Saturday night.

After uncharacteristically missing out on the playoffs last season - due in no small part to Parker's injury-shortened year - Los Angeles (9-3) is looking like a contender in 2012 thanks largely to its now-healthy star. She ranks third in the league with 19.8 points and 9.3 rebounds per game, and is also averaging a WNBA-leading 3.1 blocks.

Parker had a huge game Wednesday in a 95-79 win over Tulsa, recording 33 points, a career-high nine blocks, eight rebounds and four assists.

"I'm going to be able to go home and whip out my thumb to my husband a little bit," said Parker, married to NBA player Shelden Williams. "He prides himself on the defensive end. It's always fun to be able to do that."

Los Angeles, which held the Shock to 37.2 percent shooting, improved to 9-1 when Parker blocks at least one shot.

"Unfortunately, for her, it's what people expect," coach Carol Ross said of Parker, the league's most valuable player as a rookie in 2008.

"She's got high expectations for herself. She's created a very high standard for excellence. Sometimes she makes 30-something points and nine blocks seem like a routine day at the office.

"For the rest of us, that could be a week's worth of basketball. She has great gifts."

Parker has been superb in two wins over the Mercury (3-7) this season. She had 27 points, 11 rebounds and four blocks in a 99-88 road victory May 26 before recording 23, 10 and two during a 90-74 rout June 8.

While Phoenix was able to squeak by Eastern Conference-worst Washington 80-77 on Wednesday with just eight active players, keeping up with Los Angeles could prove much more difficult. Five-time WNBA scoring champion Diana Taurasi remains out with a strained left hip flexor while Candice Dupree, second on the team with 15.8 points per game, is uncertain to be available again due to a left knee contusion.

Playing all 40 minutes versus the Mystics, DeWanna Bonner had 19 points while Samantha Prahalis scored seven of her 15 in the final 2:02 to help Phoenix snap a three-game skid.

"We needed that win," said Bonner, averaging a team-best 19.1 points. "For us to have all these people hurt and out, and for us to come up with that win, it was great. It gave us a lot of confidence.

"These are great players that we're missing ... we just have to go out there and play hard."

Phoenix has dropped six of eight versus Western Conference foes, while Los Angeles has split six games on the road.

Toliver scores 29 to lead Sparks past Mercury

Posted Jun 24 2012 12:45AM

PHOENIX (AP) Kristi Toliver scored a career-high 29 points as the Los Angeles Sparks took a big lead early and cruised to a 93-84 win over the Phoenix Mercury on Saturday night.

Alana Beard added 18 points and Jantel Lavender 11 points and nine rebounds for the Sparks (10-3), who led by 22 at halftime. Los Angeles has won eight of 10, including three straight after losing back-to-back games last weekend.

``Our zone defense helped there in the second quarter,'' Sparks coach Carol Ross said. ``It changed the momentum of the game and the players played it really well in the second quarter and gave us a cushion to weather the good comeback that Phoenix made.''

Rookie Sammy Prahalis scored a season-high 22 points and had five assists and four steals while DeWanna Bonner had 24 points for the Mercury (3-8). Phoenix, which pulled within seven points in the final 2 minutes, has lost four of its last five.

``I told (Prahalis) to push it every time down, look for her shot, create (for her teammates), and do what she can do,'' Mercury coach Corey Gaines said. ``And that's what she did, she created the game. She's getting better. This is only her 11th game. She's making progress.''

Candace Parker, the league's third-leading scorer at 19.8 points a game, did not play for the Sparks due to a sore knee.

Phoenix went on a 17-4 run in the fourth quarter to pull to 79-70 with 4:48 left. After the Mercury cut it to seven, Toliver hit two free throws with 36 seconds left to help secure the win.

``With Candace being out, then people need to step up a little bit and make up for her absence, and I think that as a team collectively we did that,'' Toliver said. ``We played really well, especially in the first half. We got a little lackadaisical in the second half and Phoenix stepped up. We knew that they were going to make a run and that's what they did. ... There are definitely things that we have to get better at.''

Beard had seven first-quarter points to help Los Angeles get a 20-18 lead after the first. The Sparks scored 18 straight points in the second quarter, taking advantage of poor Phoenix shooting. The Mercury missed 10 straight during one stretch.

After tying the score at 20, Phoenix was outscored 29-7 as Los Angeles took a 49-27 lead at the break. Toliver scored 10 points in the second period on 4-of-5 shooting.

``We had a lapse where we got cold,'' Prahalis said of the Mercury's second-quarter struggles. ``That killed us. We dug ourselves into a hole. But when we played hard, and played the way we can, we were right there in the game. ... We just want to win. We didn't want to get embarrassed, so we just kept playing hard.''

Phoenix cut the lead to 70-53 late in the third period before April Sykes hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to give the Sparks a 20-point advantage going into the final quarter.

Los Angeles has won all three meetings with Phoenix this season, winning by an average of 12 points.

Phoenix had just eight players in uniform for the second straight game as second-leading scorer Candice Dupree again sat out with a left knee contusion suffered in Sunday's loss to last-place Tulsa. Backup center Nakia Sanford also was out with the same injury on Saturday and All-Star Diana Taurasi remains sidelined by a strained left hip flexor. Phoenix is 2-5 with Taurasi out of the lineup.

• Sparks: --
• Mercury: --

• Sparks: --
• Mercury: --

• Lead Changes: 2
• Times Tied: 4

• Arena: US Airways Center, Phoenix, AZ
• Officials: #55 Eric Brewton, #7 Clarke Stevens, #44 Felicia Grinter
• Attendance: 9670
• Duration: 2:12