Lynx-Sparks Preview

By ALAN FERGUSON
Posted Aug 06 2011 4:22PM

Taj McWilliams-Franklin has done her best to extend the Minnesota Lynx's franchise-record win streak.

The veteran center will try to keep that run going by helping the Western Conference leaders snap a six-game road losing streak against one of her former teams, the struggling Los Angeles Sparks, on Sunday night.

Minnesota coach Cheryl Reeve needed a experienced player for her young squad, so she called the 40-year-old McWilliams-Franklin in the offseason to join her sixth team in six years. The two were previously together in 2008-09 when Reeve was an assistant coach, general manager and director of player personnel with Detroit.

That move has paid off lately as McWilliams-Franklin - the No. 2 all-time rebounder and 12th-leading scorer in league history - has scored in double figures in the last six of the Lynx's eight consecutive victories, averaging 13.7 points on 61.5 percent shooting.

She scored arguably her most important points during this win streak Thursday, hitting a 18-foot jumper with 1.3 seconds left to give her team a 62-60 win over San Antonio.

McWilliams-Franklin, who played for the Sparks in 2007, finished with 18 points to help Minnesota (15-4) overcome a miserable 27.5-percent shooting performance. All-Star rookie Maya Moore missed all seven of her shots while being held scoreless for the first time.

"Not our best performance," Reeve said. "All that matters is you got out of there with a 'W'. You found a way. ... Winning the game, no matter what it took or how it looked. Getting out of there with a 'W' is the most important thing."

The Lynx haven't earned a "W" in Los Angeles since July 3, 2008, and couldn't take advantage of Moore's 21 points in her professional debut at the Staples Center on June 3. Candace Parker led four Sparks players in double figures with 19 points and 10 rebounds during an 82-74 victory.

Parker, though, is still recovering from a torn meniscus in her right knee, and her team is 3-9 without her. Los Angeles (7-12) earned two of those wins in coach Joe Bryant's first games after taking over for Jennifer Gillom but has dropped six of seven since then.

The Sparks were held scoreless for the first 4 1/2 minutes of the fourth quarter during a 79-70 loss to Connecticut on Wednesday, their third in a row at home.

Kristi Toliver was held to four points on 2-of-13 shooting in that game but has averaged a team-best 17.0 points on 58.6 percent shooting in the three matchups with Minnesota. That includes a career-high 28 points in the previous meeting, an 85-72 loss at the Target Center on July 26.

The Lynx forced 17 first-half turnovers and 25 overall, scoring a team-record 35 points off those miscues.

Minnesota is 3-19 all-time in Los Angeles and has dropped 34 of 45 overall meetings.

Whalen scores 24 to lead Lynx to 9th straight win

Posted Aug 08 2011 12:12AM

LOS ANGELES (AP) The Minnesota Lynx don't want to lose the feeling that comes with winning. They're having too much fun doing it.

Lindsay Whalen scored a season-high 24 points and the Lynx extended their franchise-best winning streak to nine games with an 84-78 victory over the Los Angeles Sparks on Sunday night.

Seimone Augustus had 19 points and Rebekkah Brunson scored 18 for Minnesota (16-4). Whalen, the league's assists leader, had eight.

``We're having fun. That's the main thing,'' Whalen said. ``We just have to keep it going.''

The Lynx snapped a six-game losing skid at Staples Center, where they are just 4-19 all-time. Their last win in Los Angeles came on July 3, 2008.

DeLisha Milton-Jones led the Sparks (7-13) with 18 points, while Tina Thompson had 17. Despite a near comeback down the stretch they lost for the seventh time in eight games.

Leading by 15 points with 4:49 left, the Lynx fended off a late rally. The Sparks went on a 13-2 run, using six straight points from Ticha Penicheiro to pull to 78-74 with 59 seconds to go. The Lynx then made three free throws to seal it.

``We were right there,'' Penicheiro said. ``But I think we dug ourselves too big a whole and ran out of time.''

The WNBA-leading Lynx moved four games clear of San Antonio in the Western Conference standings. Minnesota has gone six years without making the postseason.

``We're playing together,'' Whalen said. ``Any given night, it seems to be someone different stepping up.''

Whalen, playing in her 250th game, moved within seven points of 3,000 for her career. When she reaches the milestone she will become the sixth player in WNBA history with 3,000 points, 1,000 rebounds and 1,000 assists.

``I try not to think about it. It will eventually happen,'' Whalen said. ``I'm not really focused on it.''

Even playing at home hasn't helped the struggling Sparks, who lost their fourth in a row at Staples Center in front of a crowd that included Academy Award winning actor Tom Hanks sitting courtside.

The Sparks fell to 3-10 since losing star Candace Parker to a torn lateral meniscus in her right knee on June 26. The 2008 MVP and Rookie of the Year has been rehabbing the injury and was in uniform on the bench, but said it was only because she went through a pregame workout and didn't change clothes.

The Lynx forced the Sparks into 18 turnovers, leading to 26 points the other way.

Augustus hit a pair of jumpers to start the fourth for the 69-58 lead. Kristi Toliver made a 3-pointer for the Sparks, but the Lynx ran off seven consecutive points.

Alexis Hornbuckle banked in a straightaway 3-pointer, Brunson made a layup and Whalen finished near the basket while drawing the foul for the 76-61 advantage with 4:49 remaining.

• Lynx: --
• Sparks: --

• Lynx: --
• Sparks: --

• Lead Changes: 1
• Times Tied: 1

• Arena: Staples Center, Los Angeles, CA
• Officials: #4 Sue Blauch, #62 Jeff Wooten, #53 Jeff Smith
• Attendance: 13528
• Duration: 1:57