Connecticut Sun

It was apparent from the start that beating the Connecticut Sun was going to be a tall order for the Sparks. Margo Dydek, a 7-foot-2 center, clogged the inside while the rest of the Sun took care of the outside and hit the Sparks with a 110-89 loss, their fifth in a row and ninth in 11 games, in front of an announced 8,769 on Saturday night at Staples Center. "You can only blame ourselves because we're the ones in the uniforms," center Christi Thomas said.

Candace Parker scored 23 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to lead the Sparks to a 93-82 victory over the Connecticut Sun on Friday at Staples Center. Kristi Toliver added 18 points and Nneka Ogwumike had 17 points and eight rebounds as the Sparks recorded their eighth straight win at home to improve to 14-1. The Sparks (22-10), who had defeated Chicago on Thursday night, remained two games ahead of San Antonio for second place in the Western Conference. The Sun (22-9) suffered only its fourth road loss of the season.

Forward Delisha Milton-Jones of the Sparks tore the anterior cruciate ligament in her right knee in February, and it was thought she would have to sit out the WNBA season. But she underwent treatment and, wearing a knee brace, played 14 minutes Thursday night in a 77-54 exhibition victory over the Connecticut Sun in front of 3,011 in Uncasville, Conn. She scored three points and had four rebounds. * The Connecticut Sun and Mohegan Sun Arena will play host to the 2005 WNBA All-Star game.

SPARKS TONIGHT AT MINNESOTA When: 5 PDT. Where: Target Center, Minneapolis. On the air: TV: none. Records: Sparks 7-16, Lynx 7-14. Record vs. Lynx: 1-0. Update: With only one-third of the WNBA season remaining and the playoffs quickly approaching, the Sparks are one game behind the Lynx for fourth place in the Western Conference. During the teams' last meeting, at Staples Center on June 13, Candace Parker suffered a season-ending shoulder injury.

DeLisha Milton-Jones notched 20 points and handed out seven assists, leading the Los Angeles Sparks to an 89-80 victory over the Connecticut Sun. Ticha Penicheiro scored 17 to go with seven boards and seven helpers, while Kristi Toliver netted 15 points off the bench for the Sparks, which had lost three of four coming in. Renee Montgomery and Tan White paced the Sun with 14 and 13 points, respectively, in the club's second straight loss....

Connecticut Sun guard Katie Douglas has a hairline fracture in her right foot and is doubtful for the remainder of the WNBA playoffs. Douglas was injured in the final minute of the Sun's first-round, series-winning victory Sunday against Washington. The All-Star game most valuable player averaged 16.4 points in the regular season. "It's obviously a big loss for our team," Coach Mike Thibault said Monday. "She has been an integral part of our success."

Taj McWilliams-Franklin made a layup with 3.3 seconds left to give the Connecticut Sun a 69-67 victory over the Sacramento Monarchs Friday night in front of 4,038. The winning play was nearly identical to McWilliams-Franklin's buzzer-beater in Connecticut's 65-63 victory over Washington on June 24. The Sun (8-8) rallied from a 16-point deficit late in the first half by stepping up its defense and outrebounding the much taller Monarchs, 20-11, in the second half.

Nykesha Sales scored 19 points, and Taj McWilliams-Franklin had 14 points and nine rebounds as the Connecticut Sun defeated the Detroit Shock, 73-62, in Game 1 of their first-round WNBA playoff series Wednesday night. Katie Douglas, Lindsay Whalen and Asjha Jones each had 13 points for the Sun, which lost to Detroit in the 2003 conference finals. The Shock went on to win that title, and the Sun advanced to the 2004 WNBA finals before losing to Seattle. Connecticut shot 46% from the field and led by as many as 16 points early, forcing Detroit to miss 18 of its first 23 shots.

UNCASVILLE, Conn. -- Lindsay Whalen scored 13 of her 22 points in the third quarter and the Connecticut Sun beat the short-handed Sparks, 87-61, Thursday night. The Sparks were without Lisa Leslie, Candace Parker and DeLisha Milton-Jones, all of whom were all suspended for one game by the WNBA for their involvement in Tuesday's altercation with the Detroit Shock. The three Olympians combined to average 48 points and 24 rebounds.

The Connecticut Sun advanced to the WNBA's Eastern Conference finals when its 68-65 victory over the Washington Mystics on Sunday at Uncasville, Conn., completed a sweep of the best-of-three first-round series. Connecticut star Katie Douglas led the Sun with 16 points but left the game after injuring her right foot with 55 seconds left. She had just stolen the ball and felt something give while missing a fastbreak layup. Douglas was to have X-rays today.

DeLisha Milton-Jones notched 20 points and handed out seven assists, leading the Los Angeles Sparks to an 89-80 victory over the Connecticut Sun. Ticha Penicheiro scored 17 to go with seven boards and seven helpers, while Kristi Toliver netted 15 points off the bench for the Sparks, which had lost three of four coming in. Renee Montgomery and Tan White paced the Sun with 14 and 13 points, respectively, in the club's second straight loss....

The remnants of the Lakers' championship were sprinkled across the Staples Center floor, but the leftover purple and gold confetti seemed out of place juxtaposed against the Sparks' somber mood as they took the court against the Connecticut Sun. After all, the same day that the Lakers won their 16th NBA title, the Sparks learned they will play for the rest of the season without Candace Parker, who will undergo surgery for a dislocated left shoulder....

Logistics stated Andrea Riley wouldn't leave Oklahoma. The Tulsa Shock, the WNBA's latest franchise, had the seventh overall pick in Thursday's draft, and the Oklahoma State guard's name was all over it, a hometown favorite in waiting. Riley would move from Stillwater about 70 miles east and become Coach Nolan Richardson's cornerstone when league play begins May 15. But a surprise trade intervened, and the high-scoring sparkplug fell to the Sparks, who snatched her with the eighth overall pick.

Life is tightfisted with certainties. It gave us death and taxes, not much else. But women's basketball-wise, it bequeathed Connecticut, a sledgehammer squad whose national collegiate championship win Tuesday was as "no duh" as a gridlocked 405 Freeway come 5 p.m. In the same category, it bestows another guarantee Thursday: With the first pick in the 2010 WNBA draft, the Connecticut Sun will select center Tina Charles from the University of...

After predicting that energy would be the decisive factor in the Sparks' matchup Sunday with the Connecticut Sun, Coach Michael Cooper saw that variable unfold in many ways. The Sparks displayed it when they stormed to an early double-digit lead. They lacked it when they allowed Connecticut to creep to within single digits in the second half. Cooper monitored it with center Lisa Leslie and guard Noelle Quinn, both of whom were ill with flu and fever, respectively, last week but were deemed well enough to play.

UNCASVILLE, Conn. -- Lindsay Whalen scored 13 of her 22 points in the third quarter and the Connecticut Sun beat the short-handed Sparks, 87-61, Thursday night. The Sparks were without Lisa Leslie, Candace Parker and DeLisha Milton-Jones, all of whom were all suspended for one game by the WNBA for their involvement in Tuesday's altercation with the Detroit Shock. The three Olympians combined to average 48 points and 24 rebounds.

The Connecticut Sun got Katie Douglas back Saturday. She helped give them one more shot at the Eastern Conference title. Douglas, playing with a hairline fracture in her right foot, gave the Sun a big spark en route to a 77-68 victory over the Detroit Shock to force Game 3 today. After missing the first game in the series, Douglas was back in the starting lineup even though she wasn't 100%.

Taj McWilliams-Franklin scored 20 points, including the game-winning layup with 2.3 seconds left, to lead the Connecticut Sun to a 68-66 victory over the Charlotte Sting in Game 1 of their best-of-three WNBA Eastern Conference playoff series. McWilliams-Franklin scored eight points in Connecticut's closing 10-2 run over the final five minutes. She made a three-pointer and was fouled by Dawn Staley with 1:45 left and converted the four-point play to pull Connecticut within 66-64.

The Sparks returned to Staples Center, better known lately as The House That Couldn't Hold a Big Lead, and did their best to put a stop to the tough luck that has haunted the home teams in the last week. They got it half right, anyway.