Sparks beat Storm 65-48 in WNBA playoff preview

Sparks beat Storm 65-48 in WNBA playoff preview

Los Angeles Sparks' Marie Ferdinand-Harris (24) scores a basket on a jump ball as she defended by Seattle Storm's Camille Little, left, and Katie Gearlds, right, during the fourth quarter.

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Story Published: Sep 14, 2008 at 4:15 PM PDT

Story Updated: Nov 21, 2008 at 2:12 AM PDT

By Associated Press

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Marie Ferdinand-Harris scored 14 points, DeLisha Milton-Jones added 12 and the Los Angeles Sparks led all the way in beating the Seattle Storm 65-48 Sunday in a preview of their WNBA playoff series.

The two teams will meet in the first round beginning Friday night at Staples Center, where the third-seeded Sparks were 12-5 during the regular season while winning the season series 2-1 over the No. 2 Storm.

Shyra Ely was the only player in double figures with 16 points for the Storm, who are in the playoffs for the fifth consecutive season after finishing with a 22-12 record. Seattle's points were a season low.

Starters Sue Bird and Yolanda Griffith played just three minutes each for the Storm, who shot 33.9 percent from the floor, slightly better than their season low of 32.8 percent at Houston on June 14.

The Sparks (20-14) are back in the playoffs for the first time since 2006, when they lost to Sacramento in the conference finals. They were coming off a loss to Atlanta, the league's worst team and one the Storm beat in their previous game.

The Sparks opened the game on a 9-0 run and didn't allow the Storm to score until there was about five minutes left. Seattle's six points tied its season low for points in the first quarter and its 18 first-half points were a season worst.

Los Angeles led 40-18 at halftime, helped by Sidney Spencer's nine points. She finished with 11 points and eight rebounds.

The Sparks' commanding lead allowed coach Michael Cooper to rest Lisa Leslie and Candace Parker, giving his bench valuable minutes heading into the playoff opener. Leslie had two points in seven minutes and Parker scored nine in nine minutes, both season-low minutes for the recent Olympic gold medalists.

With Milton-Jones handling the offensive load, the Sparks stretched their lead to 52-30 after three quarters despite both teams scoring 12 points each in the third period.

The Storm ran off six consecutive points to open the fourth and get within 16 points, the closest they came.

Seattle star Lauren Jackson remained out after having right ankle surgery on Aug. 28.

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