WNBA: Tina Thompson named Western Conference player of the week

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The Sparks’ Tina Thompson was named the Western Conference player of the week after helping her team win two of its last three games while averaging 20.3 points and 10.7 rebounds during games played Aug. 9-15.

Thompson had double-doubles against Indiana on August 10 and Tulsa on August 14, and she scored the game-winning basket with 1.1 seconds left against Minnesota.

The 6-foot-2 forward, who’s the only remaining player from the league’s inception in 1997, has been on fire all month. She became the league’s leading scorer on Aug. 8, surpassing Lisa Leslie’s record of 6,263. Thompson currently has 6,334 points.

The Sparks (12-19) are in a three-way tie for third place in the Western Conference with the Minnesota Lynx and the San Antonio Silver Stars. The top four teams in each conference advance to the playoffs.

The Sparks have three games remaining in the season. They face No. 2 Phoenix on Tuesday, No. 3 Minnesota on Friday and No. 1 Seattle on Saturday.

-- Melissa Rohlin