SACRAMENTO, CALIF. ? Kara Lawson’s father taught her how to shoot. When William Lawson made his first visit to Sacramento, his daughter showed him what she learned.

Lawson hit six three-pointers and scored a career-high 24 points, and Yolanda Griffith had 10 points and seven rebounds as the Sacramento Monarchs beat the league-leading Los Angeles Sparks, 83-75, Thursday.

The former Tennessee star fell one shy of the WNBA record for three-pointers in a prolific display of outside shooting. Lawson, the fifth overall pick in the last draft, was acquired from Detroit two months ago.

“We need to win games to get in the playoff picture, and I know my job is to give an offensive spark off the bench,” Lawson said.

“I had great looks with all of those passes from Ticha (Penicheiro) and everybody else. It was just me knocking down easy shots.”

Lawson graduated as the Lady Vols’ career leader in three-pointers, but she had a slow start in Sacramento before picking up her game recently. She has scored in double figures in five of the Monarchs’ last six games — and with her father watching from the stands, she was a standout.

“He probably knows my game better than anyone else, because he taught it to me,” Lawson said.

In their second straight victory over Los Angeles, the Monarchs jumped to a 14-point lead early in the second half. They blew it all, falling behind 63-61 on DeLisha Milton’s free throws with 6:55 to play.

But Lawson and Lady Grooms hit big shots for Sacramento in the closing minutes. Edna Campbell scored 14 points in Sacramento’s sixth victory in seven games under interim coach John Whisenant.

Los Angeles guard Nikki Teasley goes up for a shot against Sacramento guard Kara Lawson. The Monarchs beat the Sparks, 83-75, Thursday night in Sacramento, Calif.

The Monarchs also got back over .500 for the first time since May 30 with their first regular-season win over the Sparks at Arco Arena in three years.

“These ladies deserve a great deal of credit,” Whisenant said. “They’ve listened to what we asked them to do. They’ve bought into our new system of more pressure on defense and more patience on offense.”

Nikki Teasley had a career-high 23 points, nine assists and eight rebounds for the Sparks. The two-time defending WNBA champions played without All-Stars Lisa Leslie and Kansas University product Tamecka Dixon, who are out because of bruised knees.

Leslie hasn’t played in three weeks for the Sparks, who lost for the fourth time in six games.

Sparks coach Michael Cooper didn’t shake hands with Whisenant after the game — apparently because of a grudge that developed some time in their long relationship.

“Sacramento has made some changes, and they’ve come out with a lot of intensity,” said Cooper, who wouldn’t discuss his rift with Whisenant. “We are a player short — a bit player short. But that’s still not a reason to lose this game.”

Whisenant said he didn’t know why Cooper was angry.

“The thing that I like most about him is his competitive nature,” Whisenant said of Cooper. “That’s why he was a great Laker. He knows he’s one of my guys, and he’ll remain that way, as far as I’m concerned.”

DeLisha Milton added 20 points and eight rebounds, and Mwadi Mabika had 16 points and seven assists.

Campbell hit a three-pointer in the final seconds of the first half, giving Sacramento a 38-26 lead.

Storm 69, Sting 54

Seattle — Lauren Jackson scored 23 points and set a team record with 20 rebounds as Seattle beat Charlotte.

It was the fifth 20-20 performance in WNBA history.

Jackson smashed her previous career high and the team record of 14 rebounds she shared with Simone Edwards. Jackson nearly completed her sixth double-double of the season in the first half, when she had 14 points and nine rebounds as the Storm (14-10)moved to a 36-28 lead at the break.

The Sting (13-11) came out strong in the second half behind the play of Dawn Staley, who picked up seven of her 16 points during a 16-3 run to start the half. Reserve Tully Bevilaqua added a career-high with 14 points for Seattle. Andrea Stinson added 12 points for Charlotte.