Augustus, Whalen lead Lynx in 78-69 win over Sky

Seimone Augustus scored 22 points, Lindsay Whalen had 20 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds, and the Minnesota Lynx beat the Chicago Sky 78-69 Thursday night.

Maya Moore had 16 points and seven rebounds to help the league-best Lynx (26-7) win for the eight time in nine games.

Sylvia Fowles and Erin Thorn scored 17 points each for the Sky (14-18).

Even though the Lynx have already wrapped up the Western Conference title and home-court throughout the playoffs, there was no letting up against Chicago. Minnesota coach Cheryl Reeve has talked about the necessity of striking a balance between being rested for the playoffs, while also staying sharp.

In the end, each of the Lynx's starters played at least 19 minutes and four played at least 25. The league's second-ranked defense limited the Sky to 36 percent shooting.

Fowles scored 15 points in the first half and finished 7 for 13 from the field. Her teammates, however, were 18 for 56 (32 percent). Epiphanny Prince - who came in averaging 14.5 points per game - was held to just eight on 3 of 12 shooting.

Prince's 3-pointer gave Chicago a 53-52 lead to start the fourth quarter. However, Whalen followed with a driving layup to put the Lynx back ahead, and Moore's 3 stretched the lead to seven with about 5:40 to go.

Carolyn Swords' three-point play pulled the Sky to 67-66 about 2 minutes later, but the Lynx scored the next nine points to pull away for good.

Whalen had eight points and six assists, and Augustus added nine points as the Lynx led by 11 points in the first half. Whalen's first assist also broke her own team-record for a season, and she now has 194.

After missing her first five shots, Moore scored seven points late in the half and Minnesota held a 41-32 lead at the break.

(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)