WNBA ROUNDUP | Wednesday's game

Silver Stars 70, Sparks 62
LOS ANGELES -- Marie Ferdinand scored 20 points and San Antonio improved to 2-0 under interim coach Shell Dailey. A 12-0 run midway through the second half gave the Silver Stars (8-16) the lead for good. The Sparks (18-6) cut the deficit to two points three times over the final 2:08, the last with 1:19 remaining on a layup by Mwadi Mabika. Jennifer Azzi's 3-pointer with 56 seconds to go gave San Antonio a 62-57 lead and the Sparks never got closer than four points. Dailey took over the team Saturday after Candi Harvey was fired. The Silver Stars had lost six in a row and nine of 10, then beat Cleveland 64-55 on Sunday in Dailey's first game. DeLisha Milton scored 18 points, Mabika added 17 and Nikki Teasley had 16 for the Sparks, who again played without their top two scorers. Lisa Leslie and Tamecka Dixon are both sidelined with injuries. Gwen Jackson and Azzi each had 11 points and Adrienne Goodson added 10 for the Silver Stars. San Antonio's second-half run over a span of 3:10 began with Jackson making two free throws after a flagrant foul against Vanessa Nygaard. The Silver Stars kept possession and Azzi made a 12-foot jumper. Jackson scored seven points and the Silver Stars made eight free throws during the run, giving them a 40-37 lead with just under 12 minutes remaining. Ferdinand, who had 16 points in the second half, had two field goals during a 6-0 run that made it 50-43 with 5:25 remaining. Leslie, the reigning league MVP, missed her sixth consecutive game after injuring her right knee in the WNBA All-Star game on July 12. Dixon has missed four games since straining her left knee. The Sparks are 3-3 without Leslie and 2-2 without Dixon. -- Associated Press