SEATTLE (AP) -- Lisa Leslie still believes that Seattle Storm star Lauren Jackson pulled her hair on purpose at the Sydney Olympics.
But it's no big deal now, Leslie said.
Leslie won the matchup of Lisa vs. Lauren on Saturday night,
shooting 4-for-4 from 3-pointers range and finishing with 22 points
and 11 rebounds as the Los Angeles Sparks beat the Storm 73-60.
Leslie downplayed any talk of a rivalry with Jackson, this
year's No. 1 draft pick from Australia.
"It doesn't exist in my mind," said Leslie, who shot 9-for-18 from the field as Los Angeles extended its perfect record to 7-0.
The last meeting of the 6-foot-5 centers turned sour in Sydney.
Jackson pulled out a clump of Leslie's hair in the Olympic gold
medal game, which was won 76-54 by the United States. Jackson has
said it was an accident; Leslie has said otherwise.
"No it wasn't," Leslie said Saturday. "But it doesn't matter. I let my game speak for itself."
Saturday was the first WNBA meeting between the players since
Seattle selected Jackson with the first pick in the April draft.
Jackson led Seattle with 19 points but was limited to four
rebounds. She scuffled with DeLisha Milton in the first half and
both were whistled for technical fouls.
"I didn't play like there was a rivalry tonight. I just go out there and play," said Jackson, noting the matchup is good for the league. "When playing against Lisa Leslie, it's the same thing every time. It was very physical in the paint."
Leslie hit a 3-pointer over Jackson just before the shot-clock
expired with 16:30 left, as the Sparks opened the second half with
back-to-back 3s. Leslie made another shot from long-range that gave
Los Angeles its biggest lead of the game, 61-34, with 11:58 left.
In the gold medal game last year, Jackson blocked two of Leslie's shots and finished with 20 points and 12 rebounds.
Los Angeles held Seattle (4-4) to just one field goal in the final 12:18 of the first half for a 43-26 halftime lead. The Sparks shot 59.3 percent in the first half and 48.1 percent in the game. The Storm shot 25 percent in the first half and 33.3 percent overall.
"We've been making strides and finding ways to win," Los Angeles coach Michael Cooper said. "Tonight, we showed our character and what kind of team we can be. The first half was about as good as we've played."
Still, Leslie considers the Sparks the underdogs to win the WNBA
championship.
"We just have to keep winning and learning," she said. "The
more we improve on our wins, the better we'll be."
Seattle, a league-worst 6-26 in its inaugural season last year, has scored just 96 points in its past two games, including 36 in a loss to the Cleveland Rockers on Thursday.
"We have got to step up and hit some more outside shots,"
Storm coach Lin Dunn said.
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ALSO SEE
WNBA Scoreboard
Los Angeles team page
Seattle team page
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