Los Angeles vs. Houston

2001 REG SEASON	W	L	HOME	ROAD	CONF	L10
Los Angeles	28	4	16-0	12-4	19-2	9-1
Houston	19	13	11-5	8-8	13-8	4-6

L.A. won season series 2-1

All statistics for games through Aug. 14
Scouting reports provided by the Detroit Shock coaching staff

#1 LOS ANGELES SPARKS	VS.	#4 HOUSTON COMETS

Point Guard
Ukari Figgs  5-9 | Purdue '99
	2001   STATISTICS G PPG RPG APG  32 8.0 3.1 3.9  BS: 4  ST: 43  3FG: 54 Regular Season WNBA.com Scouting Report: Best open three-point shooter in league ... just doesn't miss spot-up threes ... isn't looking to drive the ball to the hole ... doesn't like contact ... good ball-handler with right hand ... average ball-handler with left ... her primary job is to get the Sparks into their offense and hit threes on double downs ... prefers to drive right on perimeter ... make her put it on the floor and drive left.
Coquese Washington  5-6 | Notre Dame '93
	2001   STATISTICS G PPG RPG APG  32 5.3 3.7 3.8  BS: 9  ST: 69  3FG: 29 Regular Season WNBA.com Scouting Report: Pretty quick defensively ... sees the floor well and will really push the ball in transition ... somewhat streaky outside shooter ... will run screen/roll with Thompson when play breaks down ... will double down off shooters.
Shooting Guard
Tamecka Dixon  5-9 | Kansas '97
	2001   STATISTICS G PPG RPG APG  29 11.7 2.9 3.9  BS: 2  ST: 29  3FG: 6 Regular Season WNBA.com Scouting Report: One of the quickest first steps in the entire league ... loves to eat you up with hesitation moves by changing her speed or direction ... only needs about six inches to get a step on you ... likes to drive right for layups and left for pull-ups/layups ... keep her perimeter ... loves to use screen/rolls to get some space to take you to the basket .. quick hands on defense.
Janeth Arcain  5-11 | Brazil
	2001   STATISTICS G PPG RPG APG  32 18.5 4.3 2.9  BS: 3  ST: 60  3FG: 22 Regular Season WNBA.com Scouting Report: Solid all-around player ... has improved shooting the three but comfort zone is 12-17 foot range ... can go both ways with the ball ... more aggressive going right ... tends to shoot pull-up jumpers going left ... very good on-ball defender.
Center
Leslie Leslie  USC '94 | 6-4
	2001   STATISTICS G PPG RPG APG  31 19.5 9.6 2.4  BS: 71  ST: 34  3FG: 22 Regular Season WNBA.com Scouting Report: Has three-point range ... likes to drive right from the rop of key or perimeter ... likes to turn around jumper to her right shoulder on the right low block or start to her right shoulder hard and then step through ... is passing the ball very well on double-downs and then immediately re-posting ... very aggressive offensive rebounder ... runs the floor very well ... good shot blocker ... likes to play behind in post and try to block your shot ... likes to rebound the ball and outlet long to guards streaking up the sidelines.
Tiffani Johnson  6-4 | Tennessee '98
	2001   STATISTICS G PPG RPG APG  32 4.6 4.3 0.7  BS: 15  ST: 12  3FG: 0 Regular Season WNBA.com Scouting Report: Strong, physical post player whose role is to set screens, rebound and play defense ... has to create her own touches offensively with rebounding because she rarely gets the ball in the low post ... likes the baby hook in close ... can make the 10-foot face-up jumper ... will usually play behind in the post.
Power Forward
DeLisha Milton  6-1 | Florida '97
	2001   STATISTICS G PPG RPG APG  32 10.3 5.3 2.1  BS: 29  ST: 49  3FG: 12 Regular Season WNBA.com Scouting Report: Meanest, nastiest, most competitive player in the league ... will eat you up if you're not ready to compete ... has developed the three-point shot from the perimeter and is playing the three spot a lot now ... likes to turn her left shoulder when posting on either block ... is more comfortable putting the ball on the floor going to her right ... very aggressive defensively ... has very long arms ande will try to block shots coming from the help side.
Tina Thompson  6-2 | USC '97
	2001   STATISTICS G PPG RPG APG  30 19.3 7.8 1.9  BS: 22  ST: 29  3FG: 44 Regular Season WNBA.com Scouting Report: Having a great season ... excellent in/out player who can shoot the three and post up ... very quick release on three-pointers and has deep range ... very good from the foul line ... great at sliding into an open spot ... loves to go left shoulder with back to basket ... being asked to carry a huge load this year.
Small Forward
Mwadi Mabika  5-11 | Congo
	2001   STATISTICS G PPG RPG APG  28 11.2 4.6 3.1  BS: 11  ST: 39  3FG: 47 Regular Season WNBA.com Scouting Report: Excellent three-point shooting range, but seems to be struggling a bit this season ... great crunch time three-point shooter ... likes to finish with her right hand going right or left ... quick first step with long strides ... covers a lot of ground and gets to the basket quicker than you think ... is very capable of dominating the boards ... plays passing lanes extremely well ... very physical on-ball defender ... has very long arms and is very strong.
Amanda Lassiter  6-0 | Missouri '01
	2001   STATISTICS G PPG RPG APG  32 4.3 3.4 1.1  BS: 21  ST: 16  3FG: 26 Regular Season WNBA.com Scouting Report: Hit or miss type player -- either comes with energy and plays well or she doesn't ... average speed and defensive effort ... gambles for passes around halfcourt and gets steals ... streaky shooter from three.
Key Reserves
Latasha Byears  F | 5-11 | DePaul '96
	2001   STATISTICS G PPG RPG APG  32 9.3 5.7 0.9  BS: 13  ST: 42  3FG: 1 Regular Season WNBA.com Scouting Report: Hottest post player from an offensive standpoint ... is running the floor much better this year on the offensive end ... likes to turn her right shoulder on the low block, allowing her to get her shot off against much bigger opponents ... has an extremely quick release ... a gambler on defense when playing off the ball ... has very quick hands ... will tire quickly if forced to run the court in defensive transition.
Tammy Jackson  F | 6-2 | Florida '85
	2001   STATISTICS G PPG RPG APG  32 3.3 2.8 0.7  BS: 11  ST: 22  3FG: 0 Regular Season WNBA.com Scouting Report: Looking to be more of a contributor after being a role player in the past ... good offensive rebounder ... keeps a lot of balls alive ... not very quick laterally ... a wily veteran who knows how to use the rules in her favor.
Nicky McCrimmon  G | 5-8 | USC '94
	2001   STATISTICS G PPG RPG APG  28 5.9 0.4 2.3  BS: 0  ST: 21  3FG: 5 Regular Season WNBA.com Scouting Report: Looks to come into games and just run the offense and hit open threes when opposing teams double down on the post ... is more comfortable handling with her right than with her left ... doesn't like a hand in her face on her shot ... post players play her for the pass, especially when driving to her left.
Trisha Stafford-Odom  F | 6-0 | Cal Berkeley '92
	2001   STATISTICS G PPG RPG APG  30 3.8 2.8 0.5  BS: 2  ST: 12  3FG: 0 Regular Season WNBA.com Scouting Report: Plays very physically and with high energy ... hustles and crashes the boards hard ... not quite quick enough to play on the wing so plays in the post a lot.
Rhonda Mapp  C | 6-2 | N.C. State '92
	2001   STATISTICS G PPG RPG APG  30 4.2 2.6 0.5  BS: 6  ST: 16  3FG: 0 Regular Season WNBA.com Scouting Report: Can turn right or left shoulder on the block ... is more effective when she is able to turn to right shoulder ... likes to get in deep position on the block ... if this happens, opponent is dead -- she will eat you up ... runs the floor better than you think in transition ... is a banger ... will play behind and hit you.
Tynesha Lewis  G | 5-9 | N.C. State '01
	2001   STATISTICS G PPG RPG APG  29 3.0 2.1 0.5  BS: 4  ST: 11  3FG: 8 Regular Season WNBA.com Scouting Report: Average ball handler ... tends to use an array of change moves to create space from her defender ... likes between the legs move ... average shooter with 3-point range.