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SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) -- Ruthie Bolton-Holifield proved to the
Sacramento Monarchs how much she was needed.
Bolton-Holifield, who had missed the previous two games with an
arthritic right knee, scored seven points over the final 1:38
Sunday as the Monarchs beat Los Angeles 75-68, handing the Sparks
their first loss of the season.
She finished with 17 points, six rebounds and three assists.
"Ruthie's a big-time player," Sacramento coach Sonny Allen
said. "She'll hit the big shots."
"I had a hand in her face and forced her to go the way she
didn't want to go," said Los Angeles' Tamecka Dixon, who was
guarding Bolton-Holifield down the stretch. "That's why she's an
Olympian."
Kedra Holland-Corn led Sacramento (3-3) with a career-high 23
points, 17 in the first half, and Yolanda Griffith had 11 points
and eight rebounds.
Lisa Leslie topped Los Angeles (4-1) with 19 points and 11
rebounds, and Dixon added 15 points.
The game was a crucial one in the highly competitive Western
Conference. The Sparks, coming off an impressive win over the
Phoenix Mercury on Saturday, could have put the Monarchs into an
early hole in the playoff hunt with a win, and led by eight points
with 10 minutes left.
But the Monarchs chipped away until Bolton-Holifield's 3-pointer
with 4:40 to play gave them the lead for good.
"It was a gutty performance on national TV," Allen said of his
team's comeback.
Sparks coach Michael Cooper said the Monarchs were well-prepared
for his team, which came up short.
"We did a great job defensively," he said. "Our effort was
great."
"Sacramento should be excited that we had to play back-to-back
games," Leslie said. "I felt like if we had had a bit more rest
it would have been our game. My legs were gone -- all my shots in
the second half were short."
Leslie's contention of fatigue had some statistical backup: The
Sparks hit just 10 of 31 shots from the field in the second half
and were outscored 26-11 over the last 9:40.
But since the WNBA schedule, constrained by the Olympics in
September, crams 32 games into 71 days, every team must deal with
back-to-back games in different cities.
"It's a 32-game marathon," Cooper said.
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