Sparks squeak past Monarchs into finals

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- With the score tied at 62 and time running out, Lisa Leslie took control and put the Los Angeles Sparks in position to win a third straight WNBA championship.

Leslie hit a short baseline jump shot with 9.8 seconds to go, then sank a pair of free throws with 6 seconds left as the Sparks beat the Sacramento Monarchs 66-63 Monday night in Game 3 of the Western Conference Finals.

"Those free throws were huge," she said. "I feel lucky to have made them considering how poorly we shot from the line [6-for-12] all night."

Leslie finished with 26 points for the Sparks, who will host the Detroit Shock starting Friday night in a best-of-3 series for the title. The coaches are former NBA opponents Bill Laimbeer of Detroit and Michael Cooper of Los Angeles.

"What a game," Cooper said. "The WNBA is on a new high and a new level. I was just proud to be a part of this game tonight."

Monarchs coach John Whisenant felt much the same.

"We played well," he said "The game came down to the last two minutes. We were just hoping that we were the tougher-minded team that could last and make our shots at the end. It just didn't work out for us."

After Leslie's short jumper from the baseline made it 64-62, DeMya Walker pulled the Monarchs within a point by making the first of two free throws. But her miss of the second was rebounded by Leslie, who was fouled.

After Leslie made both foul shots, Sacramento's Kara Lawson missed on 3-point attempt at the buzzer.

Mwadi Mabika added 16 points for the Sparks. Nikki Teasley had 13 points and 10 rebounds.

Walker scored 16 points to lead the Monarchs, who got 15 from Tangela Smith. Yolanda Griffith had 10 points and 10 rebounds.

"It hurts, but we played Sacramento Monarchs basketball tonight," Griffith said of her team's second-half recovery from a 14-point deficit. "We'll learn from this. We know we're a great team, and we'll start off next season the way we ended this season."

Lawson tied the Western Conference championship game at 62 on a 17-foot jumper from the right wing with 32.5 seconds left.

The Sparks called timeout, then set up Leslie on the right baseline, coming off a screen by Mabika. Leslie took a pass from Teasley on the right wing and made a 4-footer.

"She got me the ball and I didn't have much room to make that shot," Leslie said. "I was actually behind the backboard when I got the ball."

Los Angeles won the battle of shooting percentages from the field, hitting 48.2 percent (27-for-56). Sacramento hit 43.6 percent of its field goal attempts (24-for-55).

The Sparks put together a 12-4 run to open the second half and led 50-36 with 16:04 left. But the Monarchs went on a 16-2 run of their own, tying it at 52 on two free throws by Lawson with 8:37 to go.

The Sparks took a 38-32 halftime lead on 50 percent (16-for-32) field goal shooting. Leslie had 15 points and 5 rebounds in the first 20 minutes.

The Monarchs, patient in their half-court set, effectively shut down the Sparks' transition game in the early going.

That changed when the Sparks' defense keyed an 11-0 run that produced a 22-12 lead at the midway point of the first half.

Ticha Penicheiro, whose 16 points keyed Sacramento's 77-69 victory in Game 1 last Friday night, played only six minutes in last Sunday's Game 2 because of a bruised a rib.

She received medication and was taped for Monday night's deciding game.

The second game of the WNBA Finals will be in Detroit on Sunday. If a third game is necessary, it will be in Detroit on Tuesday, Sept. 16.