
	Monday, August 27 Updated: August 28, 9:27 AM ET

	Leslie's 35 points, 16 rebounds stun Monarchs Associated Press
	LOS ANGELES -- Lisa Leslie looked in the mirror and saw a busted lip and black eye staring back. Bruised and battered, with her pride wounded, she decided to fight back. So did the rest of the Los Angeles Sparks, who came out scrapping and then cruised past the Sacramento Monarchs 93-62 Monday night to reach the WNBA finals for the first time in the club's five-year history. "That was a great game, a great team effort. We came out and jumped on them from the beginning," Leslie said. "It was just superb." She could have been talking about her own game. Leslie had a career-high 35 points, 16 rebounds and seven blocked shots to help the Sparks clinch the Western Conference finals 2-1. They will play the Charlotte Sting in the best-of-three championship series that begins Thursday in Charlotte. The Sting upset the New York Liberty 48-44 to win the Eastern Conference title earlier Monday. "As Pat Riley used to say, `Seize the moment,' and the moment is coming for us real soon," said Sparks coach Michael Cooper, who played on five NBA title teams with the Lakers. "The team you saw tonight is the team that we've been all year long. I'm so proud of these ladies because of the way they came committed. They could've backed away from the pressure," he said. The Monarchs never led, a day after routing the Sparks by 20 points to even the series 1-1. "We got beat up yesterday. It was the first time I ever came home with a busted lip, black eye and almost got my nose broken," Leslie said. "We had to decide, are you going to fight and come back and play hard and want this game, or are we going to let them come in here and take it from us. Everybody on my team decided that we were going to come and take this game and we were able to do that," she said. Leslie, selected as the WNBA's MVP on Sunday, proved it with a dominating performance from the opening tip. She had 22 points and a league playoff record 14 rebounds in the first half as the Sparks took a 42-27 lead. The old record for rebounds in a half was 10, set by New York's Tari Phillips on Aug. 24, 2000. Sacramento's Yolanda Griffith picked up her third foul with 7:34 left in the first half, forcing Tangela Smith to guard Leslie in what proved to be a mismatch. Griffith finished with six points and sat out the final five minutes after scoring 24 points in Sunday's victory that snapped the Sparks' 17-game home winning streak. "They hit their shots that they didn't hit yesterday. We didn't hit our shots," Griffith said. "They pretty much had it in the back of their heads that we weren't going to get those shots we got yesterday, and when we did get some shots we didn't connect on them." Ticha Penicheiro, whose 19 points made the difference in Game 2, was held scoreless in 24 minutes. Kedra Holland-Corn had 12 points, and Ruthie Bolton-Holifield added 11 off the bench. "I can't even remember how they scored," Penicheiro said. "They were very aggressive right from the start. We just didn't match their intensity." Standing at the foul line late in the game, Leslie was showered with chants of "MVP! MVP!" by 7,174 fans, including Lakers teammates Shaquille O'Neal and Derek Fisher, who wore her jersey. She left the game with 4:16 remaining and the Sparks ahead 79-53. "This is a huge mountain for us to climb and get over, but again, we haven't gotten to where we want to be yet," Leslie said. "As happy as we are, we still cannot celebrate yet because our goal is not accomplished." Just like Sunday, the Sparks led by 11 points in the first half. But this time, their shots hit the mark at a 52 percent clip. "We didn't get to this point by luck," Leslie said. "We are a good team that works hard." The Monarchs never challenged in the second half, which turned into a party, with the crowd on its feet cheering, slapping teal bangers and dancing to music from a live band. "Everything we did, they had an answer for," Sacramento coach Maura McHugh said, adding that Griffith's third foul changed the Monarchs' attitude. "That's when I really felt the air went out of us." Tamecka Dixon added 19 points, DeLisha Milton had 15 and Ukari Figgs had 10 assists for the Sparks, who held advantages in rebounding (13-4) and blocked shots (44-25). The Sparks had the league's best record at 28-4 and were undefeated in 16 home games during the regular season. Send this story to a friend \| Most sent stories		AUDIO/VIDEO It was all Lisa Leslie in Game 3 for the Sparks. avi: 1373 k RealVideo: 56.6 \| ISDN Cable Modem Tamika Dixon strokes the jumper and forces Sacramento to call a timeout. avi: 1086 k RealVideo: 56.6 \| ISDN Cable Modem Lisa Leslie is proud to return from their Game 2 defeat and beat Sacramento convincingly. wav: 155 k RealAudio: 14.4 \| 28.8 \| 56.6