Thompson and Hayden each score 12 to lead Sparks over Monarchs 67-47

Sparks beat Monarchs 67-47

LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Sparks got off to a fast start to end their four-game skid.

Tina Thompson scored 12 points and Vanessa Hayden added 12 points and eight rebounds to lead the Sparks to a 67-47 victory over the Sacramento Monarchs on Sunday night.

Betty Lennox and Marie Ferdinand-Harris had 10 points apiece for the Sparks (2-4). Lennox added eight rebounds.

“It’s a great win,” Sparks coach Michael Cooper said. “It let us know that we can still compete. If we come out and play with this kind of energy, we’re going to get some wins.”

Nicole Powell scored 13 points for the Monarchs (1-5), who shot a season-low 25.8 percent in losing their third consecutive game. DeMya Walker added nine rebounds.

“That’s the first game where we really were just horrible,” Monarchs coach Jenny Boucek said. “We just weren’t there defensively.”

Hayden, making her first start of the season, had eight points and four rebounds in the first quarter as the Sparks built a 22-11 lead.

Cooper said that Hayden’s post game came as a surprise to him.

“I didn’t know her touch was that good around the basket,” Cooper said. “I never knew a player could block shots without leaving the floor.”

Ferdinand-Harris then scored six points during a 12-2 run that extended the run to 36-16 with 4:57 left in the first half.

The Sparks played without Lisa Leslie, who sprained her right knee and bruised her right hip Friday against Phoenix.