Tulsa Shock beats LA Sparks 82-67 as Glory Johnson and Candice Wiggins score 42 combined points

The Shock today played a game that Coach Klop is pleased about. The team shot over 53% from the field (31-58) and made nearly half or their 17 threes (8-17). The team also outrebounded the Sparks 36-25. As the title says above, GloJo and Wiggins had good games and were efficient shooting. Also Angel Goodrich got the start at point guard and had 6 points and 8 assists, but also had 7 turnovers. Skylar Diggins did not play due to the University of Notre Dame's commencement exercises which were held today.

For LA; Kristi Toliver led the Sparks with 11 points and didn't attempt a three. LA only attempted four threes all game and made two of them.

I guess my prediction of being bullish on the Shock wasn't far-fetched after all...

Seattle Storm defeats the Los Angeles Sparks 67-66 in a preseason match

For Seattle everyone besides Alexis Gray-Lawson and Tanisha Wright played in the win. Rookie forward Tianna Hawkins played the most minutes with nearly 23 minutes, and got 8 points, 3 steals, and 5 rebounds, four of them on the offensive end. Only issue is that she was 3-10 shooting overall, which we can't really find out why when the game wasn't on TV.

For LA, no one really had any breakthrough stats, though A'dia Mathies got the start with none of the top players played besides Nneka Ogwumike who had 7 points and 5 rebounds in just shy of 20 minutes. Even then Mathies was 1-7 shooting and that's hopefully just a bad day at the office.

We finally saw a team just take a lot of threes with LA attempting 20 such shots, but only three of them went in, and I don't know if these were just desperation shots or because the new three may be too far back in the women's game as some have implied. The Storm only took nine threes, but made four of them, two by veteran post Tina Thompson.

A'dia Mathies has support from former WNBA player Ukari Figgs

Video of A'Dia Mathies' press conference after being selected 10th overall in the 2013 WNBA Draft by the Los Angeles Sparks (via CommonWealthNetwork2).

2013 WNBA Draft: Los Angeles Sparks add Alina Iagupova with 34th pick

From the Ukraine, Alina Iagupova averaged 35.5 points, 7.9 rebounds and 4.7 assists for Elizabeth-Basket during the 2012-13 season

2013 WNBA Draft: Los Angeles Sparks select Brittany Chambers 22nd overall

Wows: She had 310 3-point attempts this past season and made 37.7%, which is not bad. The Sparks have clearly identified 3-point shooting as a need today.

Wonders: She's yet another point guard who was an inefficient distributor, but part of that could've been that she was also a player who was relied upon for scoring quite a bit.

Worries: The worries are all about efficiency. Can she become a more efficient point guard in the WNBA or make it as a 3-point shooter at 5'8"?

2013 WNBA Draft: Los Angeles Sparks select A'dia Mathies

Wows: Mathies is a really athletic player who shot over 40% from 3-point range this year while also improving her ball handling efficiency a bit.

Wonders: How well will she defend at the pro level? She has all the tools but sometimes picked up some bad fouls at Kentucky, which took her out of the game.

Worries: Mathies is definitely not a distributor and at 5'9" will have to finish better around the basket. Will that limit her productiveness in the WNBA?

Los Angeles Sparks sign Briana Gilbreath to a training camp contract

Yesterday, the Los Angeles Sparks announced that guard Briana Gilbreath was signed to a training camp contract for the 2013 season.

Gilbreath was the 35th pick of the 2012 WNBA Draft to the Washington Mystics, but never played for them. She played 11 games including 2 starts for the Phoenix Mercury where she averaged 7 points and 3.6 rebounds a game all toward the end of the 2012 season. Should she make the 2013 Sparks roster, Gilbreath would provide bench support at the guard position behind Kristi Toliver, Alana Beard, and recently signed guard Lindsey Harding.

Delisha Milton-Jones signs with the San Antonio Silver Stars

Forward Delisha Milton-Jones, an unrestricted free agent has signed a contract with the San Antonio Silver Stars. Milton-Jones comes to San Antonio from the Los Angeles Sparks where she played from 1999 to 2004 and from 2008-2012. She played for the Washington Mystics from 2005-2007. For more on the signing, see the Silver Stars' release.

L.A. Sparks re-sign Jenna O'Hea

Yesterday, the Los Angeles Sparks announced the signing of 5'10" guard Paola Ferrari of Paraguay and the re-signing of Australian guard Jenna O'Hea. Today, we look at what Jenna O'Hea might offer the team over the course of a full season. For more details on each player, visit the L.A. Sparks release at their website.

Los Angeles Lakers owner Jerry Buss dies

Jerry Buss, the owner of the Los Angeles Lakers passed away today at the age of 80 due to complications from cancer. He bought the Lakers NBA team, the Kings NHL team, and the Forum arena from Jack Kent Cooke in 1979 with earnings from his real estate investments. His Lakers teams won ten NBA Finals (1980, 1982, 1985, 1987, 1988, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2009, 2010) during his reign as owner. He was also inducted to the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame as a contributor in 2010.

While the Kings did not win a Stanley Cup during Buss' reign as owner, they are now the current reigning Stanley Cup Champions after winning the series in 2012 despite being the 8th seed in the Western Conference in the playoffs.

On the WNBA side, Buss was the first owner of the Los Angeles Sparks franchise from 1997-2006 when he sold the team to Kathy Goodman and Carla Christofferson. The Sparks won the 2001 and 2002 WNBA Finals under Buss' reign.

To read more on Jerry Buss, please read our Lakers SB Nation blog, Silver Screen and Roll's piece remembering him. In addition, SB Nation NBA has a StoryStream on this story.

Kristi Toliver re-signs with the Los Angeles Sparks

Today. the Los Angeles Sparks announced in a press release that they have re-signed guard Kristi Toliver to a multi year contract. Toliver was the team's leading scorer from the 2012 season and was one of the highest profile restricted free agents this offseason.

How do you replace Lindsey Harding?

With Lindsey Harding going to the Los Angeles Sparks, is there any way for the Atlanta Dream to replace what she brought to the team?

Lindsey Harding signs with the Los Angeles Sparks

Today, the Los Angeles Sparks announced that they have signed guard Lindsey Harding to a contract. Harding last played for the Atlanta Dream where she has developed into one of the strongest point guards in the WNBA over the last two seasons. Harding was also one of this season's most notable unrestricted free agents.

How will the Los Angeles Sparks build on 2012's success for their 2013 season?

The Los Angeles Sparks had a 24-10 season in 2012, which was a nine win improvement over their 2011 campaign. The team made some major moves including hiring Carol Ross as head coach, signing guard Alana Beard in free agency last year, and drafting Nnemkadi Ogwumike of Stanford University as the number one overall pick in the 2012 Draft. All of these moves culminated into a Western Conference Finals appearance. How can the Sparks continue to improve for 2013?