Wnba Makes Its Debut

WNBA

Rebecca Lobo scored 16 points and added six rebounds to lead the New York Liberty to a 67-57 victory over the Los Angeles Sparks on Saturday in the inaugural WNBA game at Inglewood, Calif.

Lisa Leslie scored 16 points for L.A. and Penny Toler added 15, which included the game’s - and the league’s - first basket.

Leslie tried to dunk late in the first half, but she missed.

The game drew 14,284 to the Great Western Forum.

Liberty 67, Sparks 57

New York (67) - Lobo 6-15 3-8 16, Johnson 6-13 1-2 13, Hampton 5-11 3-5 13, Weatherspoon 0-2 3-6 3, Witherspoon 3-7 0-0 6, Ford 0-3 3-4 3, Trice 4-5 0-0 8, Wicks 1-3 0-0 2, Blades 1-1 0-0 3. Totals 26-60 13-25 67.

Los Angeles (57) - Charles 0-3 0-0 0, Dixon 1-4 0-0 2, Leslie 6-17 3-6 16, Toler 5-16 5-5 15, Wideman 1-5 2-2 4, Gant 0-0 0-0 0, Colleton 1-4 0-0 2, Haixia 2-7 4-6 8, Mabika 4-9 0-0 8, Burgess 1-3 0-0 2. Totals 21-68 14-19 57.

New York 33 34 - 67

Los Angeles 26 31 - 57

3-Point goals-New York 2-6 (Blades 1-1, Lobo 1-3, Ford 0-1, Johnson 0-1), Los Angeles 1-11 (Leslie 1-5, Mabika 0-2, Toler 0-4). Fouled out-None. Rebounds-New York 36 (Johnson 8), Los Angeles 39 (Leslie 14). Assists-New York 21 (Weatherspoon 10), Los Angeles 15 (Wideman 6). Total fouls- New York 24, Los Angeles 22. A-14,284.

Comets 76, Rockers 56 Cleveland

Cynthia Cooper scored 25 points to lead Houston, which led by as many as 27 points in the first half.

Houston (76) - Arcain 8-12 0-0 16, Guyton 1-2 2-2 4, Thompson 6-9 0-0 14, Perrot 1-5 0-0 2, Cooper 9-18 7-8 25, Woosley 2-2 1-2 6, Harris 2-3 0-0 4, Pollini 0-1 0-0 0, Jackson 1-2 3-3 5, Gay 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 30-54 13-15 76.

Cleveland (56) - Jones 4-8 0-0 8, Nemcova 2-7 0-0 5, Fijalkowski 5-14 2-3 12, Nicholson 4-7 0-2 9, Edwards 2-10 3-5 7, Woodard 3-8 0-0 6, Braxton 1-2 1-2 3, Boucek 1-3 0-0 2, Johnson 0-0 0-0 0, Brown 1-1 2-2 4. Totals 23-80 8-14 56.

Houston 50 26 - 76

Cleveland 28 28 - 56

3-Point goals-Houston 3-11 (Thompson 2-4, Woosley 1-1, Cooper 0-3, Perrot 0-3), Cleveland 2-7 (Nemcova 1-2, Nicholson 1-3, Edwards 0-1, Jones 0-1). Fouled out-None. Rebounds-Houston 30 (Cooper 8), Cleveland 39 (Woodard 7). Assists-Houston 14 (Cooper 5), Cleveland 13 (Nemcova, Nicholson, Edwards, Braxton 2). Total fouls-Houston 20, Cleveland 20. A-11,455.

Monarchs 70, Starzz 60 Salt Lake City

Ruthie Bolton-Holifield scored 18 points and Bridgette Gordon added 12 to lead Sacramento.

Sacramento (70) - Mosley-McAfee 5-7 0-0 10, Gordon 3-7 6-8 12, McGee 2-6 2-4 6, Tremitiere 2-7 3-6 7, Bolton-Holifield 5-17 6-8 18, Abraham 1-7 2-2 4, Hagiwara 1-4 0-0 3, Byears 2-2 0-0 4, Yasen 1-3 2-2 4, Graves 1-3 0-0 2. Totals 23-63 21-30 70.

Utah (60) - Palmer 2-8 6-8 10, Carter 4-5 0-0 8, Booker 2-4 2-6 6, Hardmon 3-11 0-0 6, Reiss 5-14 2-2 14, Head 1-5 1-1 3, Williams 2-9 2-2 6, Baranova 3-10 1-2 7, Hicks 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 22-66 14-21 60.

Sacramento 35 35 - 70

Utah 28 32 - 60

3-Point goals-Sacramento 3-11 (Bolton-Holifield 2-8, Hagiwara 1-2, Tremitiere 0-1), Utah 2-12 (Reiss 2-7, Hardmon 0-1, Williams 0-1, Head 0-3). Fouled out-McGee, Williams. Rebounds-Sacramento 56 (Bolton-Holifield 11), Utah 44 (Palmer, Baranova, Reiss 7). Assists-Sacramento 10 (Tremitiere 4), Utah 11 (Hardmon 6). Total fouls- Sacramento 27, Utah 27. A-8,915.