Sparks Hand Rockers Third Straight Defeat

WNBA roundup

Lisa Leslie scored 19 points and the visiting Los Angeles Sparks held off a late rally to beat Cleveland 74-62 Thursday night, the Rockers’ third straight WNBA loss.

Cleveland (1-4) was led by Janice Braxton’s 15 points.

Leslie had a team-high seven rebounds and Jamila Wideman added 16 points for Los Angeles (3-3).

Sparks 74, Rockers 62

At Cleveland LOS ANGELES (74) - Dixon 2-3 0-0 4, Leslie 5-12 9-15 19, Haixia 3-7 1-4 7, Wideman 4-9 5-6 16, Toler 3-7 0-0 6, Mabika 6-9 0-0 12, Colleton 1-2 0-2 2, Charles 1-1 0-0 2, Burge 2-6 2-2 6. Totals 27-56 17-29 74.

CLEVELAND (62) - Nemcova 2-11 3-4 7, Fijalkowski 5-10 3-3 13, Braxton 5-11 5-6 15, Boucek 3-3 0-1 6, Woodard 1-2 0-0 2, Jones 6-13 1-2 13, Brown 1-3 2-2 4, Johnson 1-1 0-0 2, Nicholson 0-2 0-0 0, Maxwell 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 24-56 14-18 62.

3-Point goals-Los Angeles 3-10 (Wideman 3-6, Mabika 0-1, Leslie 0-1, Toler 0-2), Cleveland 0-7 (Fijalkowski 0-1, Braxton 0-1, Jones 0-1, Nemcova 0-2, Nicholson 0-2). Fouled out- None. Rebounds-Los Angeles 41 (Leslie 7), Cleveland 36 (Braxton 10). Assists-Los Angeles 17 (Wideman 6), Cleveland 9 (Nemcova, Boucek 3). Total fouls-Los Angeles 24, Cleveland 24. Technical-Dixon. A-7,414.

Mercury 77, Starzz 55 Salt Lake City

Jennifer Gillom scored 14 of her 21 points in the second half to lead Phoenix over Utah.

Utah (2-4) was led by Wendy Palmer with 19 points and Elena Baranova with 10 points and 12 rebounds.

Phoenix (3-2) had nine of its 17 steals in the first half and eventually forced the Starzz into 27 turnovers, which led to 27 Mercury points.

PHOENIX (77) - Foster 4-11 2-2 10, Webb 1-3 0-0 2, Gillom 8-13 2-2 21, Timms 2-6 2-3 6, Pettis 6-13 0-0 14, Askamp 2-9 2-2 6, Jackson 0-3 0-0 0, Ambers 1-3 2-2 4, Lieberman-Cline 4-8 0-0 9, T.Williams 2-2 0-0 5. Totals 30-71 10-11 77.

UTAH (55) - Palmer 7-17 4-6 19, Carter 0-3 0-0 0, Baranova 5-13 0-0 10, Head 1-4 0-4 3, K.Williams 2-5 0-1 4, Becker 1-3 1-2 3, Reiss 2-10 3-6 8, Hardmon 2-7 2-5 6, Hicks 0-0 0-0 0, Scott 0-1 2-2 2. Totals 20-63 12-26 55.

Halftime-Phoenix 42-26. 3-Point goals-Phoenix 7-16 (Gillom 3-4, Pettis 2-5, T.Williams 1-1, Lieberman-Clin 1-3, Timms 0-3), Utah 3-15 (Head 1-1, Palmer 1-3, Reiss 1-6, Carter 0-1, Baranova 0-1, K.Williams 0-1, Hardmon 0-2). Fouled out- None. Rebounds-Phoenix 44 (Foster 9), Utah 55 (Baranova 12). Assists-Phoenix 25 (Timms 9), Utah 10 (K.Williams, Herdmon 2). Total fouls-Phoenix 25, Utah 15. Flagrant Foul- Webb. A-6,718.