Sparks Hold On in Final Tuneup

The Los Angeles Sparks cleared the decks for Saturday’s Women’s NBA opener against New York at the Forum with an 83-73 victory over the Phoenix Mercury in a Long Beach City College scrimmage Sunday afternoon.

Before about 2,200, the Sparks’ twin towers, 6-foot-5 Lisa Leslie and 6-8 Zheng Haixia, choked off a Phoenix rally after the Mercury had trimmed a 20-point Los Angeles lead to 52-48.

Haixia, a four-time Olympian from China, and Leslie, a former USC star and U.S. Olympian, combined for a 7-1 run and gave Los Angeles a lead it kept.

Saturday in Phoenix, the Cheryl Miller-coached Mercury beat the Sparks, 92-77.

Spark Coach Linda Sharp showed that she wants her post players to drive the team’s run for a WNBA title.

After taking a 47-27 lead Sunday, the Sparks went inside repeatedly to Leslie and Haixia, for power plays and free throws, once getting both.

“We definitely want to establish our post game and that means getting the ball inside to Lisa and Zheng at the right time,” Sharp said.

High scorer was Spark point guard Penny Toler with 20 points. Haixia had 13 in 15 minutes and Leslie 16.