Augustus Leads Lynx In 69-62 Win Over Storm

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- Seimone Augustus scored 19 points and the Minnesota Lynx took over the game with a 22-2 run and, then held on to beat the Seattle Storm 69-62 on Saturday night.

Rebekkah Brunson added 16 points for Minnesota (9-4), while Lindsay Whalen scored 13, including four big free throws down the stretch.

Tanisha Wright scored 18 points to lead short-handed Seattle (7-6), while Swin Cash had 16 and Sue Bird added 15.

Bird hit consecutive 3s to put Seattle ahead 24-23 with 6:23 to play in the first half, but Augustus followed with a pair of jumpers that started a 12-2 Minnesota run to close out the half.

The Lynx then scored the first 10 points of the third quarter and threatened to pull away until Seattle mounted a late rally.

The Storm were playing without three-time MVP Lauren Jackson, who is recovering from hip surgery, and Camille Little missed the game for personal reasons. But the Lynx appeared a step slow after playing in the highest-scoring regulation game in league history on Wednesday, then winning at Indiana on Friday night.

The Storm recovered from the big Minnesota run and cut the lead to six on a three-point play by Wright with 2:39 to play that made the score 63-57. The Storm had a chance to cut the lead even further, but Moore stripped the ball from Bird on a fastbreak, Whalen hit two free throws and Minnesota led by eight with 36.1 seconds to go.

After another defensive stop by the Lynx, Whalen converted two more free throws to secure Minnesota's second straight win.

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