Moore Has Double-Double As Lynx Beat Silver Stars
SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Maya Moore had 18 points and 12 rebounds to lead the Minnesota Lynx to an 81-62 victory over the San Antonio Silver Stars on Sunday.
Rebekkah Brunson added 15 points and 12 rebounds for the defending champion and league-leading Lynx (24-4). Lindsay Whalen and Monica Wright each added 11 points and rookie Devereaux Peters had 10.
Sophia Young scored 20 points for San Antonio (17-11), which lost its third straight at home and fifth in a row overall. No other Silver Stars player scored more than eight points.
San Antonio finished 36 percent (24 for 66) from the field, including 4 for 18 on 3-pointers.
Minnesota dominated the second quarter, using its defense and ball movement to outscore San Antonio 25-11 to take an 18-point lead at the break.
Peters hit a turnaround jumper with 1:38 left in the first half and Wright made a layup 19 seconds later to give the Lynx their largest lead at 45-24. After missing her first three shots, Shenise Johnson closed the first half by making consecutive shots to pull San Antonio to 47-29.
Eight players scored in the second quarter for the Lynx, including 14 points from reserves.
The Silver Stars used a series of picks for open looks, but were 3 for 11 on 3s in the first half.
San Antonio was forced to play catch-up the remainder of the game, but got no closer than seven points in the second half.
The Silver Stars opened the second half on a 6-0 run, forcing the Lynx to call a timeout with 7:22 left in the third quarter. Whalen hit a 16-foot jumper immediately after the timeout, but San Antonio went on another 6-0 run following that basket.
Young hit a pair of free throws as the Silver Stars closed to 55-46, its first deficit under 10 points since trailing 32-23 with 7 minutes left in the first half.
Young's layup pulled San Antonio to 57-50 with 1 minute left in the third quarter, prompting a fist-pump in celebration by Young and another timeout by Minnesota coach Cheryl Reeve.
The Lynx rebuilt a double-digit lead on a turnaround jumper by Peters and a fastbreak layup by Whalen for a 65-54 advantage with 7 minutes left in the game.
Minnesota post Jessica Adair entered the game in the closing minute of the game and promptly hit a jumper, as every Lynx player on the active roster scored a point.
The Lynx scored the game's first eight points, including 3s by Moore and Wright. Shameka Christon broke the run with a 3, but Moore and Wright hit two more 3s to build Minnesota's lead to 17-9.
The reserves pulled the Silver Stars to 19-16 with 2 minutes remaining, but the followed with an 8-2 run bridging the first and second quarters.
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