Game 1 Goes To Sparks
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LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Lisa Leslie had 22 points, seven rebounds and four assists to lead the Los Angeles Sparks to an 85-70 victory over the San Antonio Silver Stars on Thursday night in Game 1 of the Western Conference finals.

The Sparks took a 1-0 lead in the best-of-three series, which resumes Saturday in San Antonio.

Candace Parker, Temeka Johnson and Marie Ferdinand-Harris each added 14 points for the Sparks. Parker grabbed 12 rebounds and Johnson had nine assists.

Ann Wauters led the Silver Stars with 18 points and Sophia Young had 16. Becky Hammon, who was averaging 19.3 points in the playoffs, was held to nine.

Los Angeles shot 53 percent, outrebounded San Antonio 41-29 and amassed 29 assists to the Silver Stars' 16.

The Sparks, who trailed by as many as nine points, used an 11-0 spurt to take a 48-39 halftime lead. Leslie led the surge with six points and the Silver Stars failed to score in the final 3:43 of the first half.

Erin Buescher made a 3-pointer and a reverse layup to narrow San Antonio's deficit to 74-68 with 5:05 to play. But Ferdinand-Harris scored four points during a 6-0 spurt that extended the Sparks' lead to 80-68 with 2:58 left.

The winner of the series will play either the Detroit Shock or New York Liberty for the WNBA championship.

The game was played at the University of Southern California's Galen Center because of a scheduling conflict at the Sparks' regular home court, Staples Center.