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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
PHOENIX (AP) -- Katie Smith likes aggressive play, and that's
what it took to beat Phoenix on the road.
|  | | Maria Stepanova of Phoenix grabs an offensive rebound over Minnesota's Katie Smith (30) and Andrea Lloyd Curry (5) during the first half Saturday. |
Smith, the WNBA's leading scorer, scored six of her 26 points in
the final 1:18, and the Minnesota Lynx extended two
franchise-record winning streaks with a 69-62 victory over the
Mercury on Saturday.
"In the first half, we didn't get to the free-throw line -- I
think we only shot two," she said. "But as a team, we have to
thrive on being aggressive and getting people in foul trouble. In
the second half, we were able to shut them down in spurts and also
get to the line."
Smith broke a 62-62 tie with two free throws with 1:18 to play.
Then she came off a screen to take an in-bounds pass from Andrea
Lloyd Curry underneath and score with 28 seconds left and three
seconds on the shot clock.
"It was huge to execute the play like that," Smith said. "It
was a key possession and put us up by four." Smith added two more free throws with 15 seconds left for a
68-62 lead.
Grace Daley had 13 points, six rebounds and four assists in a
reserve role as the Lynx (6-2) won their fifth in a row and third
straight on the road.
Brandy Reed had 22 points and Tonya Edwards 15 for the Mercury
(5-3), who lost for the first time in four home games.
Reed and Jennifer Gillom missed shots in the last minute as the
Mercury had just one field goal in the final 10:28.
"They had really great shots on the offensive end and created
great opportunities for each other," Reed said.
The Mercury led from the opening minutes until Daley drove the
baseline for a layup that sent Minnesota to a 57-56 lead with 6:53
remaining.
Fifty-six seconds later, Betty Lennox made a spinning jumper in
the lane, giving the Lynx a three-point lead -- their biggest
advantage until then.
"We just toughed it out in the second half," Lennox said.
Edwards had 11 points in the first 5:50, hitting 4-of-5 shots.
But she was 1-for-13 the rest of the game. Reed and Edwards,
Minnesota's top two scorers last season, were the only Mercury
players to score until a layup by Gillom sent Phoenix to a 21-17
lead with 10:54 left in the first half.
"They did a great job of executing down the stretch and we
didn't, and that was basically the ballgame," Edwards said.
Daley and Michelle Cleary of Phoenix hit offsetting 3-pointers
before an 8-0 Phoenix surge made it 32-20 with 3:11 to go.
Smith hit 3-pointers 45 seconds apart to bring the Lynx within
38-31 at halftime, and Lennox started a 7-0 run in the first 1:45
of the second half with a 3-pointer as the Lynx caught up.
Reed scored seven points in an 11-0 Phoenix run, but the Lynx
battled back again.
"It helped that we tied the game up quickly. It definitely gave
us some confidence," coach Brian Agler said.
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ALSO SEE
WNBA Scoreboard
RECAPS
Minnesota 69
Phoenix 62
Miami 55
Cleveland 48
Indiana 79
Orlando 54
Utah 70
Washington 67
Los Angeles 94
Portland 81
Sacramento 74
Charlotte 63
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