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Wednesday, May 31 10:30pm ET
Mabika's career-high 21 ignite Sparks | |||||
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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
INGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) -- Mwadi Mabika scored a career-high 21 points and Lisa Leslie achieved two milestones as the Los Angeles Sparks beat the Utah Starzz 69-62 in their WNBA season opener Wednesday night. Leslie grabbed 11 rebounds, making her the WNBA's career leader with 810. She scored eight points before fouling out in the final minute to join Houston's Cynthia Cooper and Phoenix's Jennifer Gillom as the only players to score more than 1,500 career points. The game drew 6,112 to the Forum -- the lowest opening-night attendance in the Sparks' four-year history. The Starzz were without starting point guard Jennifer Azzi, who fractured her right hand in a preseason game and will be out for at least another month. Michael Cooper, an assistant with the Sparks last season who helped the Los Angeles Lakers win five NBA titles during his playing career, won his head coaching debut. Trailing by 11 points, Utah scored eight straight to close to 64-61 with 3:20 remaining. Natalie Williams, who led the Starzz with 21 points and 14 rebounds, had five points and Korie Hlede hit a 3-pointer. DeLisha Milton answered with a jumper over 7-foot-2 Utah center Margo Dydek to keep the Sparks ahead 66-61 with two minutes left. The Sparks hit three free throws in the final minute when the only basket the Starzz made was a free throw by Williams. Poor shooting plagued both teams, with neither hitting better than 34 percent for the game. Adrienne Goodson added 14 points for the Starzz, increasing her Utah record of 27 consecutive games in double figures dating to last season. The Sparks opened the second half with a 15-2 run to take a 47-36 lead. Mabika and Tamecka Dixon each had six. Nicky McCrimmon hit two 3-pointers in the next two minutes as the Sparks increased their lead to 55-41 with 12:23 remaining. | ALSO SEE WNBA Scoreboard RECAPS Washington 92 Orlando 66
Los Angeles 69
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