With Lisa Leslie out, Sparks rise to challenge and beat Sacramento, 67-47

"My mind-set was to be aggressive, assertive and to bring energy," Ferdinand-Harris said. "We needed a win tonight."

This all happened without Leslie, but her influence still lingered.

She sat next to Parker on the team bench and offered advice to players such as Lennox, who started the first half going 0 for 4 from the field. Leslie advised her to drive to the basket to force the defense on its heels. Lennox responded with 10 points in the second half and finished five for 10 overall.

While Cooper fluctuated between a post and a guard-oriented unit, forward Tina Thompson posted a dependable 12 points thanks to constant pick-and-rolls in both lineups.

"We're depleted a little bit in the post," Thompson said. "I think we're definitely going to be more guard oriented until Lisa or Candace comes back."

Until then, the Sparks want contributions from everyone.

The team is mindful to try to avoid what happened six years ago, when Leslie also suffered a knee injury in the 2003 All-Star game and missed 11 games. The Sparks went 4-7 in her absence.

Despite the obstacles, Cooper believes the Sparks can rebound from a poor start without two of their Olympians.

"We're going to get in trouble when we do try to do things on our own," Cooper said. "This team is too good for that."

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mark.medina@latimes.com