UNCASVILLE, Conn., Aug. 7 (AP) -- It seemed like old times, or at least the 2005 WNBA Finals.

Kara Lawson came off the bench to score 21 points and Sacramento clinched a playoff spot Tuesday with an 81-79 win over the Connecticut Sun, the team the Monarchs beat in four games for the WNBA championship in 2005.

The Sun came in on a four-game winning streak, and had won 10 of 11.

"This was huge,'' Lawson said. "We're playing the team that's been the best team in the WNBA for the last 11 games, so we knew it was going to be a fight down to the end.''

The Monarchs (17-11) led by seven with just over two minutes to play, and held off a charge that was sparked by a technical foul and the ejection of a Connecticut player's husband from the stands.

The Sun's Asjha Jones got the technical, slamming the ball to the court after a jump ball was called with 2:04 left and the Monarchs up 77-71.

Lawson hit the foul shot to give Sacramento a seven-point lead.

Katie Douglas watched her husband, Vasilis Giapalakis, get escorted from the arena for comments he directed at the referees. She then hit a 3-pointer which bounced high off the rim to make it 78-74.

Sacramento's Nicole Powell answered right back with a 3-pointer, before the Sun's Lindsay Whalen drove to the basket, hit a layup and turned it into a three-point play after she was fouled by Ticha Penicheiro.

Nykesha Sales brought the Sun within two points on a baseline drive with 30 seconds left. Connecticut got the ball back with seven seconds left, but Whalen missed a shot and Sacramento hung on.

"I think Asjha's technical was out of frustration,'' said Sun coach Mike Thibault, who also drew a technical. "I thought we kept playing pretty dang hard.''

Whalen and Jones had 17 each to lead the Sun (16-13).

Adrian Williams had 14 points for Sacramento and Yolanda Griffith added 11. The Sacramento bench had 45 points to 19 for the Sun, and the Monarchs outrebounded Connecticut 35-24.

"Rebounding has always been our bread and butter,'' Penicheiro said. "When we do that and play defense we usually win ball games.''

The Monarchs played most of the second half without Chelsea Newton, who took a hard foul from Jones with 9:11 to go in the third quarter and left the game holding her left wrist. Team officials said she would undergo X-rays Wednesday.

The Sun hit their first six shots and jumped out to a quick 12-6 lead. Jones was 6-of-6 in the first period, helping build the lead to 11, and Connecticut led by seven, 27-20, after one.

But Lawson hit a buzzer-beater at the end of the period to spark a Monarch run and Sacramento took the lead, 33-32 with 3:25 left in the half.

Lawson scored 14 in first the half, including her team's final eight points, but Jones' jumper just before intermission sent the teams to halftime tied at 39.

Sacramento scored the first six points of the third, and led by as many as seven in the quarter. But Connecticut used a 13-3 run to take a 59-53 lead. The Monarchs cut that to 59-58 going into the final period.

The game was tied seven times, and had five lead changes.

With the win, the Monarchs clinched their fifth consecutive playoff berth.

The Sun took the only other meeting between the two teams this season, winning 82-78 in overtime on July 12.