BE LA!

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As I was sitting in the parking lot that passes for the 405 Freeway these days, fighting my way to airport, I reflected back that that was how my first blog this season began. I was nervous heading into Game 2 of the Western Conference finals against Phoenix. I had plenty of time to think about the upcoming game (does it really need to take 90 minutes to go 15 miles on that freeway?), and I knew we could beat Phoenix if we played our game, instead of trying to play theirs. All season long, the Sparks have won when we pounded it into the post, giving our Olympians a chance to post up and rebound, and we lose when we settle for quick jump shots. LA may have a tradition of West Coast run and gun offense, but this season we did best when we were not a running team. We could actually score in the half-court and we did better when we made the other team try to beat us at our game. On Wednesday night, we tried to play Phoenix’s game. We took too many outside shots and we let them take too many. I told Penny Toler that if we could keep Phoenix below 90 points tonight, we would beat them. Phoenix was averaging over 100 in the playoffs.

As I walked into the US Airways Arena tonight in Phoenix, it was a sea of “BEAT LA” signs. When I slipped into my seat behind the Sparks bench, there was already a small but vocal contingent of Sparks season-ticket holders ready to cheer on our team and try to drown out the X-factor that is the Mercury home court. They had taken a bunch of the “BEAT LA” signs and repurposed them into “BE LA” signs by ripping the corner off. They were ready. As we waited for the horn to start the game, we just hoped the players were ready.

We didn’t have to wait long. We came out blazing in the first quarter, determined to show that Wednesday was not our best game of basketball. By the time the quarter ended, the Sparks were up by 16, with a score of 31-17. We were on our way to a 100-point game and we had held the Mercury to one three-point shot. And we never let up.

The Sparks executed the exact game plan we needed to. We ran the Mercury off the three-point line, committing them to drive into the waiting arms of Candace Parker, Tina Thompson, DeLisha Milton-Jones or Lisa Leslie. Shots under the basket gave our Olympians a chance to rebound and we out-rebounded Phoenix 43-28. On Wednesday, they made 14 three-pointers on us. Tonight, we held them to half that. And did I mention we made virtually all of our free throws? We were perfect from the stripe until the fourth quarter, and ended up shooting over 80% for the night.

By the end of the game, we had limited Phoenix to 76 points and our bench outscored theirs 19-14 (thank you, Betty Lennox!) Cappie Pondexter was 0-5 from three-point range, and Penny Taylor only scored a total of six points in the game. We did exactly what we needed to do and played our game, not Phoenix’s.

It is a three-game series and we now have to go back and do the same thing tomorrow night to be able to advance. The Mercury are a tough team -- they don’t have the best record in the WNBA by luck or accident. They are that good. But our fans had it right tonight. If our players just remember to “BE LA,” we will be OK Saturday night. It is going to be one great battle of a basketball game!

-- Kathy Goodman, co-owner of the Sparks