WNBA Playoffs 2011 – Top ten games of the post season: Part 4
Western Conference Finals Game 2:
Minnesota Lynx 103 – Phoenix Mercury 86
On September 25, Minnesota Lynx completed a two-game sweep in the Western Conference finals with an impressive 103-86 over their conference rival Phoenix Mercury.
Taj McWilliams-Franklin tallied a season high 21 points, dished out seven assist and grabbed six rebounds to lead the Lynx assault.
“I think for Taj she is just so smart,'' Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve said. ``She plays the angles and knows exactly what is happening. There is not anything she has not seen after all these years.''
Rookie forward Maya Moore also added 21 points on 6 for 8 shooting from three-point range. Lindsay Whalen chipped in 18 points and seven rebounds while Seimone Augustus tallied 16 points in the victory. Rebekkah Brunson racked
up 12 points and pulled down nine rebounds while Jessica Adair came off the bench with 10 points for the Lynx.
DeWanna Bonner led Mercury with a double-double, scoring 22 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. Diana Taurasi also added 22 points while Candice Dupree had 18 points and 11 rebounds in the loss. Lynx shot 54 percent from the field
while Phoenix ended on 43.4 percent shooting from the floor.
Minnesota held a 24-20 lead at the end of first quarter but Mercury turned it on in the second quarter and converted the deficit into a 45-43 lead at halftime. Lynx then limited Phoenix to 20 points in the third quarter to go ahead
by five, going into the last frame. Minnesota widened their lead to double figures, 77-67, early in the fourth quarter and did not trail for rest of the game.
Eastern Conference Finals Game 3: Atlanta Dream 83 – Indiana Fever 67
Atlanta Dream qualified for the WNBA finals for second consecutive time with an 83-67 victory over the conference-best Indiana Fever in game-2 of the Eastern conference finals on September 27 at the Conseco Fieldhouse.
Angel McCoughtry had a monster night. She led Atlanta with 26 points on 7 for 10 shooting from the field, grabbed eight rebounds, stole the ball four times and also blocked two shots. Iziane Castro Marques also punctuated 23 points
while Lindsey Harding had 16 points, six assists, five rebounds and four steals. Sancho Lyttle registered a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds to go along with five steals.
Katie Douglas totalled 16 points and nine rebounds while Tammy Sutton-Brown added 11 points for Fever. As a team, Dream turned the ball over 12 times but forced 18 turnovers from Indiana.
Atlanta got 11 points each from Castro Marques and McCoughtry, and were in front at halftime, 39-35. Dream opened the third quarter on a 9-0 run to go up 48-35 and pushed their lead to 14 points, 61-47, at the end of the quarter.
Indiana fought hard in the fourth quarter, but Dream had created a gap too big to bridge.
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