Liberty vs. Sparks final score: L.A. wins 68-54 despite an ugly fourth quarter

Most of the time, 12 points in the last quarter means that a team will lose. The Los Angeles Sparks (8-11) scored that many points earlier tonight, and they've had previous struggles scoring in those final ten minutes.

But the New York Liberty only scored four points in the fourth quarter. That's right. Four points on 2-of-14 shooting. But considering that L.A. was leading 56-50 heading into the fourth, it was enough to win the game, 68-54.

Once you take away the last quarter, the Sparks were shooting 51%, while the Libs were shooting at a 45.7% rate, which isn't bad. But still, the last quarter kind of overrides all that.

Both teams have been suffering woes of inconsistency all year long. Neither team was expected to be below .500 at this point of the season. In New York's case, the team is last place in the East, despite making major changes to their roster this offseason. Cappie Pondexter and Tina Charles don't appear to have great games at the same time. Tonight, Charles scored 20 points, but Pondexter was scoreless. It's the second time she failed to score a point in a game this season.

For the Sparks, as you might have expected, the frontcourt provided the bulk of the scoring with Candace Parker scoring 15 points, while Nneka Ogwumike and Jantel Lavender added 14 each. All three scored at an efficient rate too, but again, the fourth quarter was not pretty.

Queenie should have more notes soon.