Parker sparks L.A. over Dream

By SEKOU SMITH

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Atlanta Dream rookie Angel McCoughtry stopped in mid-sentence so she could take in the scene one last time.

“That’s Dawn Staley right there, just give me 30 seconds to process all this,” she said in the Dream locker room after Sunday’s 91-87 loss to the Los Angeles Sparks at Philips Arena.

Staley was one of the many famous faces of women’s basketball, and beyond, on hand for a regular season game that turned into a playoff-level showcase for both teams.

“All this” included a raucous sellout and star-filled crowd of 11,304 that turned out to watch a scintillating game full of action Dream coach and general manager Marynell Meadors said will serve her team well in the future.

The Dream lost the game to a Sparks team still finding its way as star forward Candace Parker finds hers after missing the first eight games of the season on maternity leave. And Parker did put on a show with her college coach, Pat Summit, sitting court side directly across from the Sparks’ bench.

“”It was funny,” Parker said, “I was standing at the free throw line and one of my teammates shot the ball and I swear I could hear Pat in my head saying, ‘Go to the boards’. She didn’t say anything on the sideline, but I could hear her in my head. And I ran up there knowing what she was thinking.

“But it was really nice to play in front of her, it always is. I saw a ton of orange out there in the crowd. I even brought my orange outfit for after the game, so [I was] really excited to have her here.”

Still, it wasn’t a cakewalk for the Parker and the Sparks.

The Dream battled a team whose starting lineup is loaded with five Olympians to the final buzzer. And they did so without their star, Chamique Holdsclaw, who is out with a knee injury.

“If we had her on the court, I think her leadership alone in the first five or six minutes of the game would have settled people down,” Meadors said of Holdsclaw, one of four former Lady Vols on the rosters of both teams Sunday. “This was the first time we’ve played without her and I think her presence and leadership is so valuable for us.”

At 14-12, the Dream still control their playoff destiny. Meanwhile, the Sparks were just trying to get back to .500, keeping their playoff hopes intact thanks to a huge effort from Parker.

With retiring veteran star Lisa Leslie in foul trouble the entire game, Parker picked it up in the third quarter as the Sparks erased the Dream’s six-point lead to regain control of the game.

Parker finished her night with 23 points, eight rebounds and two blocks. Former Dream star Betty Lennox and Noelle Quinn combined for 26 points, 12 rebounds and six assists to offset Leslie’s struggles (six points and four rebounds in just 16 minutes of action).

“I’m definitely not 100 percent,” Parker said. “I’m getting there. Every game is about taking a step forward and I feel like I’m doing that. I’m about 85 percent right now. Come playoffs, I will be 100 percent.”

Playoff time is what Meadors is pointing to as well.

“I can’t tell you how valuable this game is going to be for us down the line,” Meadors said. “Did we give L.A. our best shot? No. Did L.A. give us their best shot? I think they did. So I think we learned a lot from this game and just the experience of being exposed to the 11,000 people out there, the level of talent they had and the type of game it was throughout four quarters.”