The LA Sparks overcame a second half meltdown to beat the Phoenix Mercury 83-74

Bradenton, FL- The Los Angeles Sparks let their foot off of the gas in the second half against the Phoenix Mercury but did just enough to win the game, 83-74.

Before the second half, the Sparks dominated the Mercury on both sides of the floor. They hit some threes, was crashing the glass and getting second-chance opportunities, and stopped Diana Taurasi from scoring. The Sparks had everything going for them and had a 23 point lead at the half. However, in the second half, Taurasi and the Mercury started hitting their shots, getting turnovers, and beating the Sparks in transition.

At the start of the fourth quarter, Mercury cut the lead down to two, but the Sparks' superstar went back to work. Candace Parker and Brittney Sykes hit a couple of threes down the stretch to extend the lead. Phoenix tried to cut the deficit down to give themselves a shot, the Sparks had an answer on the offensive side. Even though the Sparks walked out with a victory, they were a little frustrated at the number of turnovers that they had, which was 10 for the game.

“They were beating us in transition, we were playing catch up the entire time whether they were setting down screens, flare screens, whatever the case may be,” said Sparks guard Chelsea Gray. “We were just playing catch up and then we decided, we got to lock down defensively.”

The Sparks had four players in double figures and collectively as a team, they shot around 45% for the game. Parker finished the game with 16 points, 4 assists, and 12 rebounds.