SPARKS 67, Monarchs 62

Friday, August 3rd 2001, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

LOS ANGELES (AP) _ Lisa Leslie scored 23 points and hit the winning free throw with 1:29 remaining as the Los Angeles Sparks beat the Sacramento Monarchs 67-62 Thursday night for their 14th consecutive victory and WNBA-record 18th in a row at home.

The Sparks trailed by 11 in the first half and by 10 in the second half before rallying to tie twice in the final three minutes in front of 8,554 at Staples Center.

Los Angeles, which has not lost at home since July 11, 2000, improved its WNBA-best record to 23-3 with six games remaining before the playoffs begin.

Latasha Byears tied the game at 62 before Leslie got fouled. She missed the first and made the second for a 63-62 lead.

Edna Campbell, who led Sacramento with 21 points, drove the baseline and got the ball knocked out of bounds with 14.4 seconds left. Yolanda Griffith missed before the shot clock expired.

The Monarchs fouled Ukari Figgs, who made both for a 65-62 lead with 12.5 seconds left. Campbell, who hit five 3-pointers in the second half, including four in a row, missed and Byears grabbed the rebound and was fouled with 1.3 seconds left. She made both to close out the game between the WNBA's two highest scoring teams.