Monarchs Push Sparks to a Low Point, 72-52

SACRAMENTO â€”  As the James Brown recording of “The Big Payback” blared from the Arco Arena sound system during the pregame warmups, the message the Sacramento Monarchs planned to send to the Sparks on Friday was loud and clear.

The Monarchs considered it time to get some retribution for the previous playoff heartaches the Sparks have caused them.

And once the game started, the Monarchs reinforced that message in a big way, routing Los Angeles, 72-52, in front of 8,426.

Sacramento took a 1-0 lead in the best-of-three series. The series resumes Sunday in Los Angeles.

From the 35-20 halftime lead to the 60-32 edge with 10 minutes left to play, the game was all Sacramento. The Monarchs owned the boards (33-24), limited the Sparks to 35.7% shooting (20 of 56), forced 16 Los Angeles turnovers and blocked seven shots.

The Monarchs’ offensive load was shared by Tangela Smith, who scored 15 of her 21 points in the first half; Yolanda Griffith, who had 17 points and 10 rebounds; and Kara Lawson, who was three of five from three-point range and scored all 11 of her points in the second half.

Afterward, the Sacramento players remembered they did the same thing last year in the Western Conference finals against Los Angeles -- win the first game at home -- then lost the next two on the Sparks’ home court.

“We need to get over that hump because L.A.’s beaten us every time,” said Smith, recalling the Monarch playoff losses to the Sparks in 1999, 2001 and 2003. “I think we’re ready this year. We have great depth, and that’s something they really don’t have this year if we keep going at them, attacking them ... I think we can get the win” in Los Angeles.

“I think this time we’re going to be all right,” added Griffith, who helped hold Spark center Lisa Leslie to a career playoff-low 10 points. “I don’t want to jump the gun ... but there is a different feeling this year. Maybe because we’ve learned from our mistakes when we haven’t played as a team. Sometimes our losses are because of too much individual effort. Tonight it was a team effort.”

That effort limited the Sparks to the fewest points they have scored in a playoff game. Their previous low came in an 83-55 loss to Houston on Aug. 29, 1999.

Of more concern to the Sparks, who got 15 points from Mwadi Mabika and 10 from Christi Thomas, is that they haven’t won a road playoff game since beating New York in the first game of the 2002 WNBA championship series, 71-63, on Aug. 29, 2002.

“There’s always concern when you don’t come out and play the way you’re capable of,” said Leslie, who was harassed into making only four of 12 shots. “We didn’t do a lot of things that were a part of our game plan. We definitely have to make some adjustments in our execution. Basically just get out there and execute.”

Added Tamecka Dixon, who had eight points:

“We just made it a little harder on ourselves. We preached all week to come here and take care of business, and we didn’t come out and play. Now we’re in a hole, but the good thing is we’re going home.

“We’ve got to get these next two. Actually we’ve got this one [Sunday]. We’ll worry about the other one after that.”