SALT LAKE CITY — Marie Ferdinand scored 14 points to go with her seven assists and four steals on Monday night as her Utah Starzz snapped the Los Angeles Sparks 18-game win streak, 80-78, in overtime.
Ferdinand was one of five Starzz players in double figures. Adrienne Goodson’s 21 points led the way for Utah, which improved to 19-13 on the season.
The Starzz are fighting for the third seed in the upcoming WNBA playoff’s with four-time defending champion Houston, which stayed a half game ahead with a win over Minnesota tonight.
Ferdinand’s biggest play came in overtime with 1:10 remaining as she stole a Ukari Figgs pass and went the length of the floor for a layup that gave the Starzz a 78-76 advantage.
Tamecka Dixon tied the game when she put back a Lisa Leslie miss just 23 seconds later. Leslie also missed two free throws in the final 15 seconds that could have give the Sparks a two point lead late in the game. Goodson hit the winning basket with just one tick left on the clock.
Utah led by as many as 13 in the game, that coming with 11:50 to play. The lead was still 11, 69-58 after Goodson’s three-pointer with 6:39 left in the contest.
However, Los Angeles powered back with a 16-5 run over the final six minutes to send the game to an extra frame.
Ferdinand and Leslie each had chances to win the game in the final 10 seconds of regulation, but neither could capitalize. The Sparks led much of the way in the first half, before Utah used a 6-0 run to take a 37-33 lead into the locker room.