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Jun 18, 2010 - 3:44 AM By ALAN FERGUSON STATS Writer

Connecticut (6-3) at Los Angeles (3-7), 10:30 p.m. EDT

The Los Angeles Sparks showed they could win with Candace Parker sitting out for one half. Now, they'll have to show they can win without Parker for the rest of the season.

With the former MVP lost to a season-ending injury, Los Angeles will try to take advantage of the Connecticut Sun's road struggles Friday night.

The Sun (6-3) have lost 11 straight on the road, including 91-81 at Staples Center on Aug. 30. The Sparks (3-7), however, might not have one of their key players from that win.

Parker had 20 points and a team-best 13 rebounds in the victory, but she dislocated her left shoulder in an 88-84 win over Minnesota on Sunday.

The star forward, among the league leaders with 20.6 points and 10.1 rebounds per game, originally suffered the injury in an 82-60 loss in Seattle last Friday and re-aggravated it while securing a rebound in the second quarter against the Lynx. On Thursday night, Los Angeles general manager Penny Toler announced Parker will require season-ending surgery.

"Losing Candace is definitely a huge loss for us and the league in general," Toler said. "We still have a great team that is led by two Olympians and loaded with talent. Our goal, as always, is still to win."

In Parker's absence, DeLisha Milton-Jones finished with a season-high 22 points and Marie Ferdinand-Harris scored eight of her 19 in the final 2 minutes.

With Parker gone and the Sparks off to a slow start, coach Jennifer Gillom has already placed high importance on the remaining games.

"Our backs are against the wall," Gillom said. "To me, our playoffs start now."

To aid its chances of earning that much-needed victory, Gillom's club would probably like to slow down Renee Montgomery, who is averaging 20.7 points in her last three games.

Montgomery and the No. 1 overall draft pick used for Tina Charles were acquired from Minnesota for Lindsay Whalen on Jan. 12. Even the presence of those players hasn't helped the Sun end their road struggles.

Connecticut earned a season-high third straight victory last Friday against Indiana before falling 77-67 in the attempt for a home-and-home sweep two days later.

Despite shooting 36.1 percent, the Sun rallied from an 18-point deficit to tie it with 7:04 remaining, but they allowed Tamika Catchings to score 12 of Indiana's final 17 points. That finish denied Connecticut its first road victory since Aug. 2 against Detroit and dropped the Sun to 0-3 away from home this season.

Charles, averaging a team-best 14.3 points and 10.0 rebounds, was held to a season-low two points on 1-of-8 shooting and four rebounds.

"You can't take time off during the game," forward Asjha Jones said. "We tied it up during the game. They made shots at the end, and we didn't."

Connecticut has dropped three of its last four in Los Angeles.