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Fernandez carries Sparks past Monarchs

Jun 30, 2007 - 4:47 AM LOS ANGELES (Ticker) -- Rookie Marta Fernandez scored a season-high 26 points and Christi Thomas added 15 and 11 rebounds as the Los Angeles Sparks posted a 74-66 victory over the Sacramento Monarchs on Wednesday.

A 5-11 guard from Spain, Fernandez connected on 11-of-15 shots in picking up some of the slack left by the absence of All-Star Taj McWilliams-Franklin, who sat with a hamstring injury.

The Sparks were able to take a commanding 43-29 advantage into the locker room, when Fernandez scored on consecutive driving layups, including a reverse as the buzzer sounded.

Trailing by 16 points at the start of the fourth quarter, the Monarchs made a late charge to pull within 69-64 on Chelsea Newton's layup with 1:45 remaining.

But Fernandez and Mwadi Mabika made critical free throws down the stretch to seal the win.

Nicole Powell had 14 points and 11 boards and Rebekkah Brunson added 12 and eight for Sacramento, which shot just 38 percent (24-of-63) from the field and committed 19 turnovers.