Whalen Lifts Lynx Past Sky, 79-67
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Lindsay Whalen scored 25 points and the Minnesota Lynx beat the Chicago Sky 79-67 Saturday.
Taj McWilliams-Franklin scored 12 points, and Seimone Augustus and Maya Moore added 10 each for Minnesota, which has won two straight after its lone loss of the year last Sunday. All of Augustus's points were in the second half.
Sylvia Fowles had her ninth double-double in 10 games for Chicago, with 22 points and 13 rebounds. Sonja Petrovic added 13 points and Swin Cash 11 for the Sky, which has lost two straight and fell to second place in the Eastern Conference.
The Lynx (12-1) had to sweat out a subpar start to the second half before pulling away.
Down by 17 points at halftime, Chicago (7-3) scored the first 12 points of the third quarter to get within 51-46. Moore scored Minnesota's first points more than 7 minutes into the frame and added a 3-pointer the next time down the floor. Augustus made a 3-pointer to give the Lynx a 62-51 lead.
Augustus finished off a 2-on-1 with Whalen for an easy basket before a spin move and layup by Whalen gave the Lynx a 66-52 lead early in the fourth quarter. The Sky didn't get closer than 10 points the rest of the way.
Chicago played its first game without leading scorer Epiphanny Prince. The guard, who was averaging 22.3 points per game, is expected to miss 6-8 weeks with a broken bone in her right foot, which she injured last Saturday.
Both teams wore commemorative uniforms to celebrate the 40th Anniversary of Title IX, the federal law that pushed forward sports participation for women and girls.
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