LOS ANGELES (AP) -Candace Parker had 19 points, nine rebounds and five blocks to lead the Los Angeles Sparks to a 78-63 victory over the Sacramento Monarchs on Thursday night.
Lisa Leslie added 14 points and eight blocks and DeLisha Milton-Jones had 11 points and eight rebounds for the Sparks (16-12).
Nicole Powell scored 12 points and Kara Lawson added 10 points for the Monarchs (15-13), who shot a season-low 31 percent.
Parker, Leslie, Milton-Jones and Lawson played in their first game since helping the United States win the Olympic gold medal in Beijing.
``We're a little loopy, to be honest with you,'' Leslie said. ``I don't know what time it is. We love playing basketball and I think our bodies kind of know what to do. Our defense was very solid and we pretty much picked up where we left off.''
Despite being away from the Sparks for a month, Parker said it took little time to get re-acquainted with them.
``Honestly, it's weird because I came back and it was just like we played the other day,'' Parker said. ``We were really back in the swing of things.''
Sacramento, which led by nine points in the first quarter, held a 34-30 advantage before Parker scored six points and Milton-Jones added four to lead a 14-3 surge that put the Sparks ahead 44-37 with 3:31 left in the first half.
The Monarchs failed to make a basket in the final 6:53 of the half.
``We're so interdependent,'' Monarchs coach Jenny Boucek said. ``We've had many players not practicing. If one player is just a little bit out of rhythm, it really throws our systems off.''
Parker added eight points during a 16-0 spree that extended Los Angeles' advantage to 66-45 with 1:58 left in the third quarter.
DeMya Walker made her season debut for Sacramento after breaking her left kneecap in April. Walker played only five games last season before tearing a knee tendon.
Rebekkah Brunson, the Monarchs' leading rebounder, did not play. Brunson underwent knee surgery Aug. 6.
