WASHINGTON, June 29 (Ticker) -- Katie Smith fueled a quick start and Michele Van Gorp provided a strong finish.

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Smith scored 14 of her 19 points in the first half and Van Gorp had 15 of her 17 after halftime as the Minnesota Lynx held on for a 59-50 victory over the Washington Mystics, who have lost six straight games.

Smith made her first six shots and finished 8-for-13 from the field. She scored 14 of Minnesota's first 19 points, helping the Lynx bolt to a 22-10 lead.

Again playing without injured All-Star forward Chamique Holdsclaw, the Mystics closed to 30-25 at halftime and inched within 34-33 on a jumper by Coco Miller early in the second half.

But Van Gorp took charge from there, scoring seven points in a 10-4 surge that rebuilt Minnesota's lead to 44-37 with 9:03 remaining. A layup by Lynn Pride extended the advantage to 53-43 with 5 1/2 minutes left, and Washington got no closer than five points thereafter.

Svetlana Abrosimova scored 10 points for the Lynx, who shot 46 percent (23-of-50). They have won four of their last six overall and continued a strange trend in this series, which has seen the visiting team win all seven meetings.

Nakia Sanford scored 10 points for the punchless Mystics, who shot under 34 percent (21-of-62). Holdsclaw missed her sixth game in the last three weeks with a strained hamstring.