Fading Sparks Lose Again

The Sparks never recovered after missing their first 16 shots and lost to the San Antonio Silver Stars, 69-52, Saturday night in front of 11,395 at San Antonio.

The Sparks (19-10), who have lost five of their last six games as they continue to struggle without injured All-Star center Lisa Leslie, fell behind, 18-0, 11 minutes into the game.

Nikki Teasley finally got the Sparks on the board with two free throws and Tamecka Dixon made the Sparks’ first basket 1:17 later.

Adrienne Goodson scored 15 points for the Silver Stars (10-19), who ended a three-game losing streak.

Dixon led the Sparks with 15 points.

The Sparks made only five of 29 shots in the first half and 16 of 56 overall.

The Silver Stars were not much better in the first half, making nine of 31 shots as they took a 26-16 lead.

They pulled away in the second half, leading by as many as 24 points.

San Antonio shot 67% (16 of 24) after halftime. Marie Ferdinand had 13 points for the Silver Stars.

Jennifer Azzi had all nine of her points in the second half for San Antonio.

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Charlotte 69, Connecticut 68 -- Dawn Staley’s bank shot at the buzzer gave the Sting the victory in front of 9,163 at Charlotte, N.C.

Andrea Stinson’s runner bounced hard off the backboard and into the hands of Staley, who lofted a five-foot shot high off the glass as time expired.

The officiating crew replayed the videotape of her shot several times before determining Staley got her shot off before the horn went off.

“I knew my shot was good because I saw the light on the backboard go off after the ball was out of my hand,” Staley said.

“When I was going up for the rebound it seemed like the ball came off perfectly -- it didn’t hit the rim or anything.”

Stinson scored 19 points, Shalonda Enis added 14 and Staley had 11 as the Sting (16-12) rallied from a 15-point deficit to maintain sole possession of second place in the Eastern Conference.

Nykesha Sales tied a career-high with 29 points, and Katie Douglas added 10 for the Sun (14-14), loser of two in a row.

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Minnesota 77, Sacramento 73 -- Katie Smith scored 27 points to rally the Lynx past the Monarchs in front of 10,209 at Sacramento.

Minnesota moved into fourth place in the Western Conference standings, one game ahead of Sacramento, with five games remaining. The top four teams make the playoffs.

The Lynx (16-13) established a franchise record for victories. Minnesota went on a 15-1 run to overcome a 10-point deficit and take control of the game.

The Monarchs (15-14) had their four-game home winning streak snapped and fell to 8-3 under interim Coach John Whisenant. Maura McHugh was fired after a 77-59 loss July 8 in Minnesota.

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New York 65, Washington 56 -- Crystal Robinson had 18 points at Washington as the Liberty ended a nine-game road losing skid and eliminated the Mystics from playoff contention in front of 13,869 in Washington.

The Liberty (12-14) hadn’t won away from home since June 6 in Minnesota.

“We were executing beautifully to start the game and then we turned the ball over 10 times,” New York Coach Richie Adubato said.

“It’s been so long since we won on the road that we just wanted the game bad. We were willing to do anything we could to win the game.”

Chamique Holdsclaw led Washington (7-21) with 13 points despite shooting only four for 17 from the field.

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Cleveland 66, Indiana 62 -- Chasity Melvin scored 19 points as the Rockers won before 7,162 at Indianapolis.

Cleveland, which plays host today to the Fever, tied Indiana for fourth place in the Eastern Conference. Both teams are 13-14.

Indiana made a game of it down the stretch, as Bridget Pettis, Niele Ivey and Tamika Catchings made consecutive three-point baskets to pull within 62-59 with 31.5 seconds to play.