Sep 23, 2008 - 11:47 PM
0 shoutsSEATTLE (Ticker) -- Despite a furious finish, the Los Angeles Sparks were able to send the Seattle Storm packing early once again.
Candace Parker scored 19 points and Lisa Leslie added 15 before fouling out in the final minutes as the Sparks advanced to the Western Conference finals with a 71-64 victory over the Storm in a decisive Game Three of their conference semifinal series on Tuesday night.
Marie Ferdinand-Harris scored 12 points off the bench for Los Angeles, which won for the first time in KeyArena since June 30, 2006 to earn the right to play the San Antonio Silver Stars with a spot in the WNBA Finals on the line. Game One will be at the Staples Center on Thursday.
The 2004 WNBA champions, Seattle has been eliminated in the opening round of the playoffs in four straight seasons. The Storm lost for just the second time at home this season in this one.
Parker, who shot 8-of-13 from the field, led the Sparks to a 14-point advantage heading into the fourth quarter. The Storm made a run, cutting the deficit to three on four separate occasions in the fourth but could get no closer.
It looked even brighter for Seattle, which saw its deficit shrink to five when Leslie fouled out with 2:16 left. But it could not generate any more easy offense the rest of the way.
Tanisha Wright scored 20 points and Camille Little added 17 for the Storm, who played without former league MVP Lauren Jackson due to ankle surgery.
From the Bleachers
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LOS ANGELES: 71
SEATTLE: 64
Final
Sep 23 11:23 PM -
LOS ANGELES: 42
SEATTLE: 35
Halftime
Sep 23 10:44 PM -
LOS ANGELES: 38
SEATTLE: 33
Halftime
Sep 23 10:03 PM -
LOS ANGELES: 19
SEATTLE: 16
End of 1st
Sep 23 9:28 PM
