Storm 69, Sparks 67

LOS ANGELES (AP) After beginning the season with nine consecutive victories, the Los Angeles Sparks now have a two-game losing streak.

The two-time defending WNBA champions were unable to complete a comeback from an 18-point second-half deficit, falling to the Seattle Storm, 69-67, Thursday night.

``My concern is defense,'' said Sparks coach Michael Cooper, whose team lost 87-78 in overtime Tuesday night at Detroit. ``We have to get it done defensively. We had some lapses that put us in the hole early. We showed a lot of courage by digging ourselves out, but we can't do that.''

Sandy Brondello scored 21 points, including a 13-foot jump shot giving the Storm a four-point lead with 10.9 seconds left, while Sue Bird had 15 points and a career-high equaling 12 assists.

``We were really aggressive both offensively and defensively,'' Bird said. ``We didn't give them anything easy when we were on defense, and when we were on offense, we really took it to them, ran our plays to perfection and got that early lead.''

Rookie Shaquala Williams' layup cut the Storm's lead to 67-65 with 37 seconds left, capping a 9-0 run. Los Angeles again pulled within two, at 69-67, on Sophia Witherspoon's lay-up with 4.1 seconds remaining.

Brondello missed two free throws a second later and Witherspoon grabbed the rebound, but the Sparks were unable to get a shot off before time expired.

``We didn't adjust,'' said Los Angeles center Lisa Leslie, referring to her team's reliance on outside shooting. ``We didn't stick to our normal game plan by getting the ball inside as much as we would have liked, but I think our guards did a really good job of penetrating and getting us into the bonus early.''

Leslie scored 21, Tamecka Dixon 17 and Witherspoon 10 in 22 minutes off the bench for Los Angeles (9-2), before a Staples Center crowd announced at 8,861.

Lauren Jackson added 15 and Kamila Vodichkova 14 for the Storm (5-4).

(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)