2009 Los Angeles Sparks season

2009 Los Angeles Sparks season
CoachMichael Cooper
ArenaSTAPLES Center
Attendance10,387 per game
Results
Record18–16 (.529)
Place3rd (Western)
Playoff finishLost Conference Finals
Team Leaders
PointsLeslie (15.4)
ReboundsParker (9.8)
AssistsQuinn (3.5)
Media
TelevisionFox Sports West

The 2009 Los Angeles Sparks season is the 13th season for the Los Angeles Sparks of the Women's National Basketball Association. Lisa Leslie announced that the 2009 season would be her last.[1] On June 5, the Sparks and Farmers Insurance Group of Companies announced a multi-year marketing partnership that includes a branded jersey sponsorship. The Farmers Insurance branded jersey will be worn by the players for the first time on June 6. As part of this alliance, the Farmers Insurance name and logo will appear on the front of the Sparks jerseys and will have considerable visibility in the Staples Center during home games. Los Angeles became only the second WNBA team to finalize such an agreement.[2] The Sparks attempted to reach the playoffs and were successful.

Offseason

  • On May 13, Sparks star Candace Parker gave birth to a baby girl. It is the first child for the WNBA’s reigning MVP and rookie of the year and husband Shelden Williams of the Boston Celtics. Goodwin Sports Management announced the baby girl was born in Los Angeles. She weighed 7 pounds, 6 ounces and was 20 inches long.[3]

Dispersal Draft

Based on the Sparks' 2008 record, they would pick 9th in the Houston Comets dispersal draft. The Sparks waived their pick. [4]

WNBA draft

The following are the Sparks' selections in the 2009 WNBA draft.

Round Pick Player Nationality School/Team/Country
1 13 Lindsay Wisdom-Hylton  United States Purdue
2 22 Ashley Paris  United States Oklahoma
3 35 Britney Jordan  United States Texas A&M-Commerce

[5]

Transactions

  • June 5: The Sparks waived Jessica Moore.
  • June 4: The Sparks waived Ashley Paris and Marta Fernandez.
  • May 18: The Sparks waived Britney Jordan.
  • May 7: The Sparks signed Kristi Harrower to a training camp contract.
  • May 5: The Sparks then traded the pick from the Liberty and Rafaella Masciadri to the Minnesota Lynx in exchange for Noelle Quinn.
  • May 5: The Sparks traded Sidney Spencer to the New York Liberty in exchange for a first round 2010 WNBA Draft pick.
  • April 14: The Sparks signed Betty Lennox.
  • April 14: The Sparks waived Murriel Page.
  • March 26: The Sparks traded Temeka Johnson to the Phoenix Mercury in exchange for a first-round 2010 WNBA Draft pick.
  • March 25: The Sparks signed Marta Fernandez.
  • March 12: The Sparks signed Tina Thompson.
  • January 30: The Sparks traded Christi Thomas to the Minnesota Lynx in exchange for Vanessa Hayden-Johnson.
  • December 17, 2008: The Sparks traded the rights to Chamique Holdsclaw to the Atlanta Dream in exchange for the 13th pick in the 2009 WNBA Draft.
  • April 21, 2008: The Sparks traded their first-round draft pick in the 2009 WNBA Draft to the Washington Mystics as part of the Taj McWilliams-Franklin/Delisha Milton-Jones transaction.

[6]

Date Trade
December 17, 2008 To Los Angeles Sparks To Atlanta Dream
13th pick in the 2009 WNBA Draft rights to Chamique Holdsclaw
January 30, 2009 To Los Angeles Sparks To Minnesota Lynx
Vanessa Hayden-Johnson Christi Thomas
March 26, 2009 To Los Angeles Sparks To Phoenix Mercury
first-round 2010 WNBA Draft pick Temeka Johnson
May 5, 2009 To Los Angeles Sparks To New York Liberty
first-round 2010 WNBA Draft pick Sidney Spencer
May 5, 2009 To Los Angeles Sparks To Minnesota Lynx
Noelle Quinn Rafaella Masciadri and a first-round 2010 WNBA Draft pick

Free agents

Roster

Los Angeles Sparks roster
Players Coaches
Pos. # Nat. Name Height Weight DOB From Yrs
PG 6 United States Bobbitt, Shannon 5' 2" (1.57m) 130 lb (59kg) Tennessee
SG 24 United States Ferdinand-Harris, Marie 5' 9" (1.75m) 153 lb (69kg) LSU
PG 10 Australia Harrower, Kristi 5' 4" (1.63m) 139 lb (63kg) Australia
C 55 United States Hayden, Vanessa 6' 4" (1.93m) 240 lb (109kg) Florida
SG 22 United States Lennox, Betty 5' 8" (1.73m) 143 lb (65kg) Louisiana Tech
C 9 United States Leslie, Lisa 6' 5" (1.96m) 170 lb (77kg) USC
SF 8 United States Milton-Jones, DeLisha 6' 1" (1.85m) 185 lb (84kg) Florida
F 3 United States Parker, Candace 6' 4" (1.93m) 175 lb (79kg) Tennessee
F 15 United States Pringle, LaToya 6' 3" (1.91m) 162 lb (73kg) North Carolina
PG 45 United States Quinn, Noelle 6' 0" (1.83m) 175 lb (79kg) UCLA
F 32 United States Thompson, Tina 6' 2" (1.88m) 178 lb (81kg) USC
F 14 United States Wisdom-Hylton, Lindsay 6' 2" (1.88m) 186 lb (84kg) Purdue
Head coach
Assistant coaches
Athletic trainer
Strength and conditioning coach
  • United States Bruce Deziel
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (IN) Inactive
  • (S) Suspended
  • Injured Injured

Season standings

Western Conference W L PCT GB Home Road Conf.
Phoenix Mercury x 23 11 .676 – 12–5 11–6 13–7
Seattle Storm x 20 14 .588 3.0 13–4 7–10 13–7
Los Angeles Sparks x 18 16 .529 5.0 11–6 7–10 11–9
San Antonio Silver Stars x 15 19 .441 8.0 10–7 5–12 10–10
Minnesota Lynx o 14 20 .412 9.0 9–8 5–12 7–13
Sacramento Monarchs o 12 22 .353 11.0 7–10 5–12 6–14

Schedule

Preseason

2009 Game Log: Preseason
Game Date Time (ET) Opponent Score High points High rebounds High assists Location/Attendance Record
1 May 31 3:00pm @ Connecticut 80-77 Thompson (14) Leslie, Wisdom-Hylton (6) Lennox (4) Mohegan Sun Arena
6,630		 1-0

Regular season

2009 Game Log: Regular Season
June
Game Date Time (ET) Opponent TV Score High points High rebounds High assists Location/Attendance Record
1 June 6 2:30pm Detroit ABC 78-58 Thompson (18) Lennox (10) Harrower (7) STAPLES Center
13,154		 1-0
2 June 8 7:30pm @ Detroit 52-81 Thompson (14) Thompson (11) Milton-Jones, Quinn (3) Palace of Auburn Hills
13,915		 1-1
3 June 10 8:00pm @ Minnesota 76-87 Lennox (25) Lennox, Leslie (8) Quinn (4) Target Center
7,444		 1-2
4 June 12 7:00pm @ Indiana 61-73 Leslie (21) Leslie (13) Harrower (3) Conseco Fieldhouse
9,320		 1-3
5 June 19 10:00pm @ Phoenix 80-89 Lennox (16) Thompson (14) Quinn (6) US Airways Center
8,255		 1-4
6 June 21 9:30pm Sacramento NBA TV
FSNW		 67-47 Hayden, Thompson (12) Hayden, Lennox (8) Bobbitt (5) STAPLES Center
9,494		 2-4
7 June 26 10:00pm @ Seattle 67-69 Thompson (20) Milton-Jones (7) Lennox (5) KeyArena
9,686		 2-5
8 June 28 9:30pm Seattle NBA TV
FSNW		 82-55 Ferdinand-Harris (15) Quinn (6) Harrower (5) STAPLES Center
10,797		 3-5
July
Game Date Time (ET) Opponent TV Score High points High rebounds High assists Location/Attendance Record
9 July 5 9:30pm Phoenix NBA TV
FSNW		 89-104 Lennox, Thompson (17) Milton-Jones (7) Bobbitt (6) STAPLES Center
9,872		 3-6
10 July 9 7:30pm @ New York MSG 69-60 Lennox (20) Thompson (8) Harrower, Ferdinand-Harris (3) Madison Square Garden
12,247		 4-6
11 July 11 7:00pm @ Washington 63-75 Bobbitt, Lennox (10) Milton-Jones, Thompson (7) Harrower (3) Verizon Center
12,217		 4-7
12 July 14 7:00pm @ Connecticut ESPN2 71-82 Milton-Jones (19) Lennox (11) Lennox, Milton-Jones, Parker (2) Mohegan Sun Arena
6,612		 4-8
13 July 22 10:30pm @ Seattle 87-98 (3OT) Thompson (22) Lennox (12) Parker (5) KeyArena
7,154		 4-9
14 July 28 8:00pm @ Minnesota 76-70 Thompson (30) Parker (10) Lennox, Thompson (4) Target Center
7,216		 5-9
15 July 29 8:00pm @ Chicago 63-75 Milton-Jones (15) Parker (10) Thompson (4) UIC Pavilion
5,633		 5-10
August
Game Date Time (ET) Opponent TV Score High points High rebounds High assists Location/Attendance Record
16 August 1 10:00pm @ Sacramento 59-56 Parker, Milton-Jones (13) Parker (12) Harrower (6) ARCO Arena
7,204		 6-10
17 August 4 3:00pm San Antonio 59-63 Leslie, Quinn (13) Thompson (12) Quinn (4) STAPLES Center
13,865		 6-11
18 August 6 10:30pm Seattle 79-75 (OT) Quinn (23) Parker (13) Leslie (4) STAPLES Center
9,735		 7-11
19 August 10 10:30pm Indiana 75-63 Leslie (21) Leslie (11) Milton-Jones (4) STAPLES Center
8,263		 8-11
20 August 11 9:00pm New York ESPN2 61-65 Leslie (12) Parker (11) Bobbitt, Harrower, Quinn (2) STAPLES Center
9,548		 8-12
21 August 14 10:30pm Sacramento 79-85 Leslie (25) Parker (10) Quinn (5) STAPLES Center
10,122		 8-13
22 August 15 10:00pm @ Sacramento 78-61 Parker (18) Leslie (9) Milton-Jones, Quinn, Thompson (4) ARCO Arena
7,646		 9-13
23 August 18 10:30pm Washington 72-69 Leslie (20) Parker (12) Parker, Quinn (5) STAPLES Center
9,287		 10-13
24 August 19 10:30pm Minnesota 78-63 Leslie (28) Parker (10) Quinn (7) STAPLES Center
9,181		 11-13
25 August 21 8:00pm @ San Antonio NBA TV
KMYS		 67-66 (OT) Parker (17) Parker, Thompson (12) Leslie (4) AT&T Center
9,540		 12-13
26 August 23 3:00pm @ Atlanta 91-87 Parker (23) Lennox, Parker (8) Thompson (6) Philips Arena
11,304		 13-13
27 August 25 10:00pm Chicago ESPN2 75-63 Leslie, Parker (21) Parker (12) Bobbitt, Thompson (3) STAPLES Center
9,615		 14-13
28 August 27 10:30pm Phoenix NBA TV
FSNW		 90-98 Leslie (23) Lennox (6) Quinn (8) STAPLES Center
9,586		 14-14
29 August 30 9:30pm Connecticut NBA TV
FSNW		 91-81 Thompson (21) Parker (13) Milton-Jones, Quinn (5) STAPLES Center
11,072		 15-14
September
Game Date Time (ET) Opponent TV Score High points High rebounds High assists Location/Attendance Record
30 September 1 10:30pm Atlanta 79-84 Leslie (24) Parker (14) Lennox (5) STAPLES Center
8,756		 15-15
31 September 5 8:00pm @ San Antonio 72-89 Leslie (21) Parker (10) Parker (8) AT&T Center
8,631		 15-16
32 September 8 10:30pm San Antonio NBA TV
KMYS		 76-68 Leslie (18) Parker (13) Quinn (6) STAPLES Center
10,476		 16-16
33 September 11 10:30pm Minnesota NBA TV
FSNW		 90-64 Leslie, Thompson (19) Parker (14) Quinn (9) STAPLES Center
13,764		 17-16
34 September 13 3:00pm @ Phoenix ESPN2 81–78 Parker (24) Parker (14) Lennox (6) US Airways Center
12,968		 18–16
All games are viewable on WNBA LiveAccess

Postseason

2009 Game Log: Postseason
Western Conference Semifinals
Game Date Time (ET) Opponent TV Score High points High rebounds High assists Location/Attendance Series
1 September 16 10:00pm Seattle ESPN2 70-63 Thompson (16) Leslie, Parker (10) Harrower (5) STAPLES Center
7,919		 1-0
2 September 18 10:00pm @ Seattle NBA TV 74-75 Lennox (17) Leslie (14) Quinn (5) KeyArena
8,854		 1-1
3 September 20 5:00pm @ Seattle ESPN2 75-64 Parker (22) Milton-Jones (9) Quinn (7) KeyArena
8,159		 2-1
Western Conference Finals
Game Date Time (ET) Opponent TV Score High points High rebounds High assists Location/Attendance Series
1 September 23 10:00pm Phoenix ESPN2 94-103 Parker (28) Parker (10) Thompson (5) Pauley Pavilion[7]
6,389		 0-1
2 September 25 10:00pm @ Phoenix NBA TV 87-76 Parker (24) Parker (18) Quinn (4) US Airways Center
7,628		 1-1
3 September 26 10:00pm @ Phoenix NBA TV 74-85 Leslie (22) Thompson (11) Lennox, Thompson (3) US Airways Center
7,226		 1-2

Regular Season Statistics

Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game  RPG  Rebounds per game
 APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game  BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game
 FG%  Field-goal percentage  3P%  3-point field-goal percentage  FT%  Free-throw percentage  TO  Turnovers per game
 PF  Fouls per game Team leader League leader

Player statistics

Player GP GS MPG RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
Shannon Bobbitt 33 3 10.7 1.0 1.4 0.45 0.03 2.2
Marie Ferdinand-Harris 28 6 12.1 1.5 0.9 0.54 0.07 5.4
Kristi Harrower 31 26 16.8 1.8 2.2 0.52 0.00 3.1
Vanessa Hayden 25 1 10.8 2.7 0.2 0.16 0.88 3.8
Betty Lennox 30 13 21.3 4.5 1.8 0.87 0.13 10.2
Lisa Leslie 23 21 27.7 6.6 2.1 0.70 1.43 15.4
Delisha Milton-Jones 33 33 31.6 4.8 2.2 1.24 0.24 10.2
Candace Parker 25 24 32.6 9.8 2.6 0.60 2.12 13.1
Noelle Quinn 34 9 27.3 3.6 3.5 1.18 0.32 8.4
Tina Thompson 34 34 34.8 5.9 2.3 0.76 0.71 13.0
Lindsay Wisdom-Hylton 29 0 6.8 1.4 0.3 0.10 0.28 2.4

Team statistics

Team FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG TO PF PPG
Los Angeles Sparks .430 .297 .791 36.7 17.3 6.4 4.9 16.7 17.1 74.5
Opponents .399 .335 .769 30.9 15.2 8.8 3.4 13.6 18.3 73.5

Awards and honors

References

  1. ^ "Biggest Retirements of 2009". CNN. Archived from the original on July 15, 2012. Retrieved April 23, 2010.
  2. ^ http://www.spmsportspage.com/published/pr/los-angeles-sparks-and-fa.shtml[permanent dead link‍]
  3. ^ https://sports.yahoo.com/wnba/news;_ylt=AlGyq05IMxe9AD_a3129nNRbvrYF?slug=ap-parker-baby&prov=ap&type=lgns [dead link‍]
  4. ^ WNBA.com: Houston Comets dispersal draft
  5. ^ "WNBA.com: 2009 WNBA Draft Board". Archived from the original on July 25, 2009. Retrieved July 23, 2009.
  6. ^ WNBA.com: 2009 WNBA Transactions
  7. ^ Bruin Alumnae Return To Pauley Pavilion For LA Sparks Playoff Game Wednesday, UCLABruins.com, September 22, 2009. Accessed 2009-09-24. Archived 2009-09-26.