Whalen, Lynx Eliminate Hammon And Stars With Win

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Lindsay Whalen scored 31 points, and the Minnesota Lynx beat the Stars 94-89 on Saturday night to advance to the Western Conference finals and end the playing career of San Antonio's Becky Hammon.

Seimone Augustus scored 21 points and Maya Moore had 16 for Minnesota, which won the series 2-0 and will next face the winner between Phoenix and Los Angeles.

Kayla McBride had 25 points, Danielle Adams added 23, and Jia Perkins had 17 for San Antonio.

Hammon, who is retiring after 16 seasons in the WNBA, had 12 points and four assists in her final game. She received a standing ovation and grew misty when she received warm wishes from Minnesota's players.

Hammon will become the first woman to serve as a full-time NBA assistant coach, joining the San Antonio Spurs in their quest for a championship repeat.

The Stars appeared ready to extend Hammon's career by getting off to a fast start and stifling the Lynx defensively.

But the Stars had no answer for the defending WNBA champions' offensive depth. After attempting to stall Whalen's drives, Minnesota allowed Augustus and Moore to close out the game.

The Stars scored the game's first seven points and went on to a 22-4 lead. The early run included a turnaround jumper and a 3-pointer by Adams.

Minnesota rallied midway through the second quarter, sparked by coach Cheryl Reeve's frustration with the officiating crew.

After her pleas for a call from official Amy Bonner fell on deaf ears, Reeve turned to a group of fans that had been heckling her and screamed, "Adams is in the lane (defensively) for 10 seconds and they are not calling it."

The Lynx closed the first half on a 18-8 run to cut the Stars' lead to 44-40.

Whalen scored 12 points in the second quarter, sinking 4 of 5 shots and making all six free throws.

A pair of 3-pointers by McBride were the only points for San Antonio in the final minutes of the first half with the exception of a pair of free throws by Danielle Robinson with 0.5 seconds remaining.

Moore's 3-pointer gave Minnesota its first lead at 46-44 with 8:39 left in the third quarter.

That came seconds after Hughes received a technical foul for telling Bonner, "be fair both ways."

The technical gave San Antonio a temporary spark that turned into a 59-53 lead, but Minnesota closed on a 14-5 run for a 67-64 lead entering the fourth.

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