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Maya Moore's first home game didn't start the
way she had planned it. No problem for the No. 1 pick as she
finished it in style.


      Moore scored 14 of her 16 points in the second half and the
Minnesota Lynx defeated the Los Angeles Sparks 86-69 on Sunday.


      Seimone Augustus led the Lynx with 17, who beat Los Angeles for
the first time in nine tries. The teams split their season-opening
series, with the Sparks winning Friday night in L.A. after
overcoming a 10-point second-half deficit.


      "It's about darn time we beat L.A.," Minnesota coach Cheryl
Reeve said. "I asked (center) Taj McWilliams-Franklin if we were
ready when I was in the locker room and she said, 'Coach, we are so
(angry) about the game we let go.' They played that way ... with a
sense of urgency."


      Moore, who scored 21 points in her WNBA debut in Los Angeles,
had a rough first half Sunday, hitting only 1 of 5 shots while
playing just over 7 minutes after picking up two quick fouls.


      Meanwhile, the Lynx saw a 12-point second-quarter lead cut in
half as the Sparks hit 3-pointers on their last two possessions
before the break, including Ticha Penichero's heave from just
inside the half-court line at the buzzer that pulled L.A. to within
46-40.


      That's when Moore took control. She stole the ball on the
Sparks' first possession of the second half and fed Lindsay Whalen
for a fastbreak layup, then hit back-to-back 3s that forced a Los
Angeles timeout.


      "We said we were going to get those six points back and Maya
took it personally," Reeve said of her halftime talk.


      Moore added two other long jump shots and hit Whalen for an open
3 as the Lynx outscored Los Angeles 24-10 in third. It was a
breakout stretch for the player many expect to become the WNBA's
next big star, but after the game Moore said she wasn't trying to
do anything more than help her team avoid a second straight
collapse against the Sparks.


      "I was just wanting to make up for the way we ended (the first
half)," Moore said. "We knew we had to come out and be
aggressive.


      "I like how we responded," she added. "I've always heard that
the character of a team is tested after a loss."


      Kristi Toliver led the Sparks with 13 points, while Tina
Thompson and Candace Parker each scored 11.


      "I thought that Minnesota came out with a lot of aggression and
really took the ball at us, and I thought they played well
defensively," said Sparks coach Jennifer Gillom, whose team shot
37 percent from the field.


      Meanwhile, Whalen had 10 points and seven assists for Minnesota
and Rebekkah Brunson added 10 points and 15 rebounds, her second
straight double-double after setting a franchise record with 12
last year.


      The Lynx dominated the boards, holding a 44-28 advantage after
being outrebounded by eight on Friday.


      "I just don't think we boxed out and we didn't hit the glass
offensively either," Parker said.


      They also outscored Los Angeles 18-2 on the fastbreak and
blocked four shots, including Moore's memorable swat of a Thompson
shot that sent the ball three rows deep into the stands and brought
the sellout crowd to its feet.


      "She puts the ball in the hole for us and that's great, but she
made so many big plays on defense for us too," Reeve said of her
rookie guard.


      Monica Wright and Amber Harris each scored 11, giving the Lynx
six players in double figures on the day.


      "That's who we said we wanted to be. That is the depth," Reeve
said. "Our bench is not bad, and nights like this with six people
in double figures, that's what we want to be."
      

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Sports

Maya Moore's first home game didn't start the
way she had planned it. No problem for the No. 1 pick as she
finished it in style.


Augustus, Moore lead Lynx past Sparks 86-69

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