The Image Is Nothing for Figgs

By Bill Plaschke

Aug. 31, 2001 12 AM PT

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Loosely translated in the Nigerian dialect of her godparents, her first name means “Unto us God has given grace.”

Not to mention, eight ungodly good minutes Thursday that probably gave the Sparks the WNBA championship.

In a 75-66 victory in the finals opener against the Charlotte Sting, the game’s most famous name was overshadowed by the one most misunderstood.

It was Ukari (U-Car-ee) Figgs, not Lisa Leslie, who made the three-point shot with 7:16 remaining to start the Sparks on the final comeback run.

It was a shot she punctuated with an open-mouthed glare at the stunned crowd, dropping her jaw for so long, it almost looked like

“I did not stick my tongue out at the crowd, I promise,” Ukari said. “I don’t do that nasty stuff.”

That was Ukari (U-Go-Girl) Figgs who moments later hustled ahead of the crowd to turn a loose ball into a layup to give the Sparks a 63-61 lead they never lost.

It was Ukari who sparked the defense that held the Sting scoreless for nearly seven of those final eight minutes.

It was Ukari who, during that time, added two assists and two free throws and snarling leadership.

While the cameras were focused on Leslie--it is a league rule that they must always focus on Leslie--Ukari was stepping into the middle of the Sparks’ huddle. Pulling out her mouthpiece.

Hitching up her pants as a panther tattoo peeked out from her thigh. Grabbing her shirt so you could see the tattooed cross on her back. Goading her teammates in her Kentucky accent.

Ukari does not fit the WNBA’s pony-tailed image, which, perhaps, is part of what is wrong with the WNBA.

On the most important night of their season, she certainly worked for the Sparks, grabbing the ball and holding tight while the clock ran out on what was essentially a title clincher.

The three-game series moves to Staples Center for two weekend games. If the Sparks can’t win one of those games against a clearly overmatched Sting team ... well, they won’t.

Unto them, Ukari has given her word.

“I hate to lose,” she said. “And when you hate to lose, you want the ball.”

On a night when they were strangely bullied until those final eight minutes, not every Spark wanted the ball.

They trailed by four at halftime after Andrea Stinson sneaked through dozing rebounders to rebound her own miss and score at the buzzer.

They trailed by 11 in the second half as the Sting shoved them and stole from them and shot over them.

Leslie was swarmed. Tamecka Dixon was hobbled. DeLisha Milton was tentative.

With eight minutes remaining, Sting Dawn Staley made a three-pointer and Leslie dribbled the ball out of bounds and Coach Michael Cooper leaped from the bench to argue a call.

During which time, one thought emerged through the noise of surprisingly large and loud crowd of 16,132.

The Sparks aren’t ready for this.

And perhaps they weren’t.

But Ukari was.

She was ready, even though the season began with her on the bench, playing all of four minutes in the opener, waiting to be traded.

She was ready, even though inconsistency causes her to be the player Cooper often pulls out of games when the team is struggling.

She was ready, if not everyone in the league thinks she is ready.

When asked about Ukari afterward, injured WNBA star Sheryl Swoopes sniffed.

“She’s a young point guard with a lot to learn,” she said. “But if she continues like this, maybe she can become one of the best.”

The one certainty is, she could become one of the few WNBA players besides Swoopes to play for both an NCAA champion and a WNBA champion.

That’s what Thursday was about, you know.

Ukari is the only player in the Sparks’ locker room with title rings from two different levels--Scott County High in Kentucky and Purdue.

“She has been there before, and you can see it in her,” Cooper said. “That’s why she’s in there at the end. She knows what to do.”

She knew enough to run and comfort Dixon when her fellow guard crashed into the basket and re-injured her heel in the final minutes ... but only for a minute before stalking back to her teammates and urging them to get tougher.

“It was a horrible thing,” she said. “But we couldn’t stop what we were doing.”

She knew enough to bump and grab Staley, forcing the veteran guard into six turnovers with only two assists. But when one of the Sparks--probably her--bloodied one of the Sting in the final seconds, she quickly ran to an official. Players with blood on their jersey must go to the bench, right? Ukari argued in vain.

“I’m just trying to do everything I can,” she said. “In these situations, it’s all about what you do at the end of the game.”

She even played smart afterward, when confronted with a line from her bio page in the Sparks’ media guide.

“Would like to play one-on-one with Dawn Staley, her role model.”

Um, Ukari, you actually said that?

“Yeah, sure, I really did look up to her,” she said. “And tonight was kind of neat.”

Did you talk?

“No, I don’t really think she knows me,” Ukari said. “But that’s OK.”

Oh, Staley knows her now. The Sting knows her now. More important, the Sparks know her now. No translation necessary.

Bill Plaschke can be reached at [email protected].