Follow Us on Facebook Follow Us on Twitter VI Mobile College Basketball March Mayhem Picks College Basketball March Mayhem Picks VegasInsider.com VegasInsider.com
Handicapper Bios Sports Picks Free Odds Contests Sportsbook
Sports Betting Home NFL NBANHLMLBNCAA FBNCAA BKGolfAutoHorsesBoxingVI More Sports
 
WNBA Scores Matchups Teams Standings Schedules News Odds
 
 · Vegas Odds
 · Offshore Odds
 · Future Odds
 
Recap: Lynx 80, Sparks 79
Line Movements
Date: October 07, 2012 3:30 PM EDT
  

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Candace Parker banked in a 3-pointer from 30 feet, giving the Sparks a two-point lead late and sending their fans into a tizzy.

``I said to myself, `We're OK, we have time,'' Minnesota's Maya Moore said. ``We don't get too high, we don't get too low.'

The Lynx got where they wanted in the end, claiming an 80-79 victory for a 2-0 sweep of the Western Conference finals.

Advertisement

``WNBA finals, here we come,' Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve said.

Seimone Augustus scored 21 points, Moore added 20 and Lindsay Whalen 17 for the Lynx, who trailed by 10 points early in the fourth and came in with a 4-21 record in Los Angeles.

Reserve Monica Wright answered Parker's theatrics with a 3-pointer to put the Lynx back in front, 80-79. She singlehandedly outscored the Sparks' bench, 8-0.

``It was the perfect three,' Moore said. ``I screamed, double fist-pumped and said, `Yes, Monica.''

Alana Beard missed a 16-footer at the final buzzer for the Sparks as Parker pulled her jersey over her face in anguish.

``I really wanted this championship,' said Parker, who in five seasons has yet to make the WNBA finals. ``It hurt after we lost because I think this was a championship team, but the ball didn't fall our way.'

The Lynx, who won the series opener by 16 points, await the Eastern champion, either Connecticut or Indiana.

Parker had 33 points and 15 rebounds playing all 40 minutes, and joined retired Sparks star Lisa Leslie as the only players with at least 30 points and 15 rebounds in WNBA postseason history. Kristi Toliver added 16 points and Beard 15.

``It's going to sting for a while,' said veteran DeLisha Milton-Jones, who won two titles with the Sparks earlier in her career.

Minnesota got two 3-pointers from Moore to close to 70-67 before the Sparks committed three turnovers. Whalen made two straight baskets to put the Lynx back in front, 73-72, for the first time since early in the third.

The Lynx extended their lead to 77-74 before Parker scored consecutive baskets. She banked in the 3 from nearly the top of the key with 1:31 remaining, giving the Sparks a 79-77 lead and putting a big smile on her face.

``It's up to us to come back and execute and make another great play,' Beard said, ``and unfortunately we didn't.'

After a timeout, the Sparks scrambled to make their final play, when Parker didn't touch the ball.

``We were going to drive and Candace was going to follow to the rim,' Sparks coach Carol Ross said, ``or Beard the option to get it to Parker on the pick and roll. It wasn't a good play or it wasn't executed too well.'

In the third, the Sparks used a 17-0 run to lead 65-57. The Lynx went more than 5 minutes without a basket while Los Angeles took its first lead since the start of the game.

``We've been in those type of situations before and had to make those huge comebacks,' Moore said. ``We have to keep playing. Some shots had to go for us and they did.'

The Sparks trailed by 12 points early in the second quarter, when they outscored the Lynx 22-15, to trail 40-39 at halftime. Parker keyed a 17-9 spurt with eight points, including a fast-break driving layup that got Los Angeles within one. She had 18 points and 10 rebounds in the half. Beard and Toliver each had four points in the spurt. The Lynx forced 10 turnovers in the half, when they got outrebounded 19-12.

Before the game, the Sparks' Nneka Ogwumike was honored as WNBA rookie of the year and Ross was chosen coach of the year. Ogwumike finished with 11 points and seven rebounds.

``It's an honor, but I think it's also a reflection of our team success,' she said. ``Individual awards don't come without team success, so I think that that showed, especially with some of the other accolades that my teammates got. It's reflective of how hard we worked.'

Ross, in her first season with the Sparks, guided them to a 24-10 record, including a 16-1 mark at Staples Center. She previously was an assistant with the Atlanta Dream and coached 16 years at Florida and Mississippi.

But she ended the season with two losses.

``I don't feel like the coach of the year,' she said.

AP NEWS
The Associated Press News Service

Copyright 2013
The Associated Press
All Rights Reserved

 CLOSING LAS VEGAS LINE
 Team  ML   SPR   O/U 
 MIN  +135   +3   166.5 
 LOS  -155   -3   
LAS VEGAS LINE MOVEMENTS

 CLOSING SPORTSBOOK LINE
 Team  ML   SPR   O/U 
 MIN  +135   +3   166.5 
 LOS  -155   -3   
OFFSHORE LINE MOVEMENTS

 BETTING TRENDS
 Team  ML   SPR   O/U 
 MIN  10%   13%   33% 
 LOS  90%   87%   67% 
BT MOVEMENTS

 WNB HEAD TO HEAD
 Oct 4, 2012  Score  ATS Results 
  LOS 77 Over: 171 
  MIN « 94 Cover: 11.5 
 Tools:   Recaps
 Sep 20, 2012  Score  ATS Results 
  MIN 76 Push: 168 
  LOS « 92 Cover: 14 
 Tools:   Recaps
 Sep 4, 2012  Score  ATS Results 
  LOS 77 Under: 165 
  MIN « 88 Cover: 2 
 Tools:   Recaps
 Jul 5, 2012  Score  ATS Results 
  MIN 90 Over: 186 
  LOS « 96 Cover: 12 
 Tools:   Recaps
 May 24, 2012  Score  ATS Results 
  LOS 84 Cover: 1 
  MIN « 92 Over: 176 
 Tools:   Recaps
 Aug 20, 2011  Score  ATS Results 
  LOS 68 Under: 155 
  MIN « 87 Cover: 10 
 Tools:   Recaps
 Aug 7, 2011  Score  ATS Results 
  MIN « 84 Over: 162 
  LOS 78 Cover: 1 
 Tools:   Recaps
 Jul 26, 2011  Score  ATS Results 
  LOS 72 Under: 157 
  MIN « 85 Cover: 4 
 Tools:   Recaps
 Jun 5, 2011  Score  ATS Results 
  LOS 69 Over: 155 
  MIN « 86 Cover: 11.5 
 Tools:   Recaps
 Jun 3, 2011  Score  ATS Results 
  MIN 74 Cover: 0 
  LOS « 77 Under: 151 
 Tools:   Recaps

 WNB RECAPS
 Sunday, Oct 7
 
  •  Lynx at Sparks
3:30 PM EDT
 
 
 
  
GOLD Membership
Over 150 Member Plays free each month. Signup Today!
 
 

NFL
NFL Sports Picks
NFL Vegas Odds
NFL Online Odds
NFL Matchups
NFL Scores

More Sports
Golf
Auto Racing
Horse Racing
Boxing
WNBA

MLB
MLB Sports Picks
MLB Vegas Odds
MLB Online Odds
MLB Matchups
MLB Scores

Features
Free Odds
Contests
Newsletters
VI Radio
Las Vegas Travel
Follow us on Twitter
Add us on Google+
Join us on Facebook

NBA
NBA Sports Picks
NBA Vegas Odds
NBA Online Odds
NBA Matchups
NBA Scores

Sports Betting Tools
Live Odds
Mobile Odds
Parlay Calculator
Gaming Terms
TV Listings
Handicapping Records
Sports Betting
About Sports Betting
Sportsbook Reviews

NHL
NHL Sports Picks
NHL Vegas Odds
NHL Online Odds
NHL Matchups
NHL Scores

VegasInsider Info
About Us
Help Center
Privacy Policy
Terms of Use
Refund Policy
Contact Us
User Feedback

College Football
NCAA FB Sports Picks
NCAA FB Vegas Odds
NCAA FB Online Odds
NCAA FB Matchups
NCAA FB Scores

Sportsbooks
CarbonSports · Review
SportBet · Review
Sportsbook · Review
TopBet.eu · Review

College Basketball
NCAA BK Sports Picks
NCAA BK Vegas Odds
NCAA BK Online Odds
NCAA BK Matchups
NCAA BK Scores

Rotation Schedules
Baseball: Mar 31 - June 02

Copyright © 1997-2013, VegasInsider.com Inc., The Global Leader In Sports Gaming Information. All rights reserved.
For questions or comments, please contact us at 1-800-211-4759.