For Sparks, the Magic Number’s Down to One

It’s 27 down and one to go now--and if you want to dream along for just a moment with these high-flying Sparks--just maybe two more after that, for the WNBA championship.

The Sparks, knowing early in the game that Phoenix already had beaten Charlotte, Friday night catapulted themselves into a conference championship game Sunday evening at America West Arena in Phoenix, with an 88-77 victory over Sacramento at the Forum.

Here’s the last-game-of-the-season arithmetic:

Western Conference leader Phoenix is 15-12, Los Angeles 14-13. A Sparks’ victory earns them a Western Conference title tie, but they would go to the playoffs by virtue of their 3-1 season mark against Cheryl Miller’s Mercury.

Friday’s crowd, 10,975, was the third-largest of the season and the early arrivals watched the Sparks show off their best shooting of the season.

Los Angeles’ winnig streak grew to four, and and they have won six of their last seven.

Facing a team that had lost three in a row by at least 15 points, Los Angeles came out fast, employing an efficient fastbreak offense to build a 22-point lead by halftime.

The Sparks shot 63.6% in the first half (58.3% for the game), their hottest-shooting half and game of the season. The Sparks held a 54-32 halftime lead.

Haixia Zheng led Los Angeles with 21 points on 10-of-11 shooting from the floor. Penny Toler had 19 points and eight assists. Afterward, she talked of what the Sparks expect in Phoenix.

“I have a friend in Phoenix who tells me scalpers are getting $300 for Sunday tickets,” she said.

“We’re going to go at ‘em with all we’ve got. And they know we play better on the road than we do at home.”

Said Coach Julie Rousseau: “We’ll be firing all our cannons, all the artillery we can find. There’s no holding back now.”

Predicted Sacramento Coach Heidi VanDerveer: “I like L.A. They’re playing so well right now, they have great guards and their inside game is really strong.”

Around the WNBA

No Spark will touch this--what with automatic fines for anyone criticizing officials--but ever since General Manager Rhonda Windham’s $1,000 tirade against the officiating crew in the 71-70 Aug. 9 loss at Houston (and $300 fines for Lisa Leslie and Coach Julie Rousseau), the Sparks have been much happier with the officiating. . . . The Sparks activated guard Mwadi Mabika Friday and put forward Kim Gessig--who replaced Mabika on the active roster--on injured reserve with an ankle sprain. . . . Sunday’s Phoenix-Los Angeles game will not be broadcast or televised, but KNX (1070 AM) radio will update the score during the game. . . .

Bridget Pettis scored a franchise-record 27 points as the Phoenix Mercury defeated the Charlotte Sting, 78-63, in front of 15,114 at America West Arena in Phoenix. Jennifer Gillom added 17 points and Michele Timms had 13 points and eight assists for the Mercury (15-12). Andrea Congreaves led Charlotte (14-13) with 13 points and Vicky Bullett scored 12. Pettis was 10 for 15 from the field, including a three-for-six performance from three-point range, and made all four of her free throw. “I need to keep my confidence up and keep taking shots,” said Pettis, a former University of Florida star who spent the last three seasons in Turkey. “We played good defensively tonight. We showed that we can play with the best of them.”