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Liberty-Sparks Preview

Aug 11, 2009 - 6:20 AM By MATT BECKER STATS Senior Writer

New York (7-14) at Los Angeles (8-11), 9:00 p.m. EDT

Shameka Christon is usually one of the most dangerous scorers in the league, but she has hardly looked the part lately.

It won't be easy for Christon to break out of her shooting slump against a defensive-minded Los Angeles Sparks team Tuesday night in the final game of the New York Liberty's season-high five-game road trip.

New York (7-14) arrives in Los Angeles after falling 70-69 to Seattle on Saturday, its sixth loss in seven games. Interim coach Anne Donovan, who took over for the fired Pat Coyle when the road trip began Aug. 1, dropped to 1-3.

The Liberty had numerous chances to defeat the Storm, but missed all six shots they attempted over the game's final 2:57.

"At the end of the game, the execution wasn't what it needed to be," Coyle said. "In order to win a game like this on the road against a great team, you've got to execute down the stretch."

Christon missed two shots in the final 1:46, including a potential go-ahead jumper with 6 seconds left that was blocked by Lauren Jackson.

Those weren't the only two shots the All-Star forward missed.

Christon, who is averaging a team-high 17.3 points, matched her season low of nine, set in Friday's 84-66 win at Sacramento. After shooting 2 of 11 from the field against the Monarchs, she went 3 for 11 against Seattle.

Christon also didn't have much success against the Sparks in New York's 69-60 home loss July 9, finishing with 10 points on 4-of-14 shooting.

Los Angeles (8-11) boasts the league's second-best scoring defense, limiting opponents to an average of 72.6 points. The Liberty are 1-11 when scoring fewer than 73.

Coming off Monday's 75-63 win over Eastern Conference-leading Indiana, the Sparks are showing signs of getting their season turned around after a shaky start.

Los Angeles shot a season-high 51.0 percent against the Fever en route to winning back-to-back games for the first time all season. The Sparks have won four of six after losing nine of their previous 12.

"It was just a matter of getting their timing and their rhythm," Sparks coach Michael Cooper said. "We played our first 15, 16 games as bad as I think any team that I've been affiliated with in L.A.

"But I knew this was going to come. This team is on to something real, real special."

Lisa Leslie finished with 21 points Monday, becoming the first WNBA player to score 6,000 in her career. The three-time MVP was playing in her third game since missing 11 due to a sprained right knee and bruised right hip.

Leslie did not play against the Liberty last month due to the injuries.

Reigning league MVP Candace Parker finished with eight points and six rebounds against the Liberty in July, her second game of the season after missing the first eight while on maternity leave. She had 14 points and seven boards for the Sparks on Monday.