2008 WNBA Playoffs Recap – September 24 – No. 3 Los Angeles Sparks 85, No. 1 San Antonio Silver Stars 70

Posted by Dan on September 26, 2008

2008 WNBA Playoffs Recap – September 24 – No. 3 Los Angeles Sparks 85, No. 1 San Antonio Silver Stars 70

Western Conference

No. 3 Los Angeles Sparks 85, No. 1 San Antonio Silver Stars 70

LOS ANGELES – Through the first quarter of game one in the WNBA Western Conference Finals it appeared that the top seeded San Antonio Stars had broken out of the offensive funk that plagued them during the first round. Then the second started.

The Silver Stars jumped out to a quick 26-17 lead after the first 10 minutes of play. The rest of the way San Antonio only scored 44 points as it dropped an 85-70 decision to the number three seed Los Angeles Sparks. The game was played on the USC campus because of a scheduling conflict with the Staples Center.

Game two is Saturday night in San Antonio at the AT&T Center. Despite having the second-best home record in the league, the Silver Stars dropped their first home playoff games to Sacramento and needed overtime to finish off the Monarchs.

This is the second year in a row that San Antonio has found itself trailing in the Western Conference Finals. Last season they lost their first game to Phoenix, who swept them and went on to win the WNBA Championship.

The victory was the Sparks’ first in the conference finals since the 2003 season when they beat Sacramento in the game three. Los Angeles lost in three to Detroit during the WNBA Finals.

After the Sparks found themselves down nine points following the first quarter, Los Angeles started the second quarter on a 9-2 run to pull within 28-26 on a pair of Marie Ferdinand-Harris free throws. Candace Parker hit a pair of baskets during a 2:23 stretch with the second giving LA a 35-34 lead.

The two teams would trade baskets until WNBA Defensive Player of the Year Lisa Leslie took control of the game. She scored six-straight points to ignite an 11-0 run by Los Angeles to close the half with the Sparks leading 48-39.

The second half started with San Antonio scoring the first two baskets to cut the lead to five, 48-43, at the 8:05 mark. The Sparks answered with a quick run of their own as Ferdinand-Harris hit a pair of baskets to push the margin to 11. The lead would remain around 10 for the rest of the quarter.

The Silver Stars worked to cut the lead to six, 74-68, on a lay up by Erin Buescher at the 5:05 mark. Unfortunately, San Antonio would only make one of its last eight shots as the Sparks closed the game on an 11-2 run.

Leading all scorers was Leslie as she poured in 22 points to go along with seven points and four assists before she fouled out for the second playoff game in a row. Posting her first career playoff double-double was Parker with 14 points and 12 rebounds. Ferdinand-Harris and Tameka Johnson equaled Parker’s 14 points.

A starter in the first three games, Johnson came off the bench against San Antonio.
She added five assists and Shannon Bobbitt had five more. The knock on LA has been is front court, but Johnson and Bobbitt have risen to the occasion at home. The challenge for them will be to get it done on the road.

During the opening round the Silver Stars had the top scoring tandem in the Becky Hammon and Sophia Young as they both averaged 19 points. In game one they were held to combined 25 points. Ann Wauters led San Antonio with 18 points and Vickie Johnson had 10. The Silver Stars’ starting five accounted for 89 percent of the team’s scoring.

Los Angeles was on fire from the floor, hitting 52.9 percent (36-68) to the Silver Stars’ 40.3 percent (25-of-62). The Sparks also dominated San Antonio on the boards, 37-21, and in the assist category, 27-16.