2016 WNBA playoff scores: Lynx sweep Mercury, advance to 5th finals in 6 years


The Minnesota Lynx are back in the finals of the WNBA after completing a sweep of the eighth-ranked Phoenix Mercury on Sunday as they won Game 3 of the semi-finals series, 82-67.

Maya Moore led the defending champions with 20 points on 8-for-15 shooting and six rebounds. Natasha Howard played big, scoring 17 points while adding eight rebounds. Seimone Augustus and Lindsay Whalen added 12 and 11 points, respectively.

The Lynx returned to the finals for the fifth time in just a six-season span where they will look to defend the title.

The team failed to go back to back during the first two instances they won the title. In 2012, the Lynx lost to the Indiana Fever in the finals a year after they won their first franchise title. In 2014, the Lynx lost to the Mercury in the Western Conference finals, failing to defend their 2013 crown.

The Lynx were up by just one at the half but outscored the Mercury, 26-15 to break the game wide open.


Diana Taurasi and DeWanna Bonner each had 12 points for the Mercury. In her final game, Penny Taylor, a three-time champion with the squad, scored four points.


In the other game, the Chicago Sky rallied back from 15 points to beat the Los Angeles Sparks at home, 70-66 and stay alive in their semi-finals series.

The Sparks led by as much as 15 in the first half alone as Nneka Ogwumike scored 16 of her 22 points in the first two quarters. Ogwumike shot 9-for-13 from the field.

But the Sky scored the final six points of the second period to cut the deficit down to nine, before opening the second half on a 17-6 run to snatch the advantage.

Imani Boyette came up huge with 13 points including back to back baskets in the final two minutes of the game which gave the Sky the upperhand. Kristi Toliver, the only other double-digit scorer for Los Angeles with 13 points, had hit a triple to give the Sparks a 64-62 lead but Boyette tied the game with a lay-up.

Later, she scored again before a pull-up jumper by Courtney Vandersloot in transition pushed the lead up to 68-64 with only 15 seconds left. She finished with a team-high 17 points and five assists. Boyette also tallied 11 boards while Clarissa Dos Santos added 10 points off the bench.

Candace Parker had nine points, 15 rebounds, and six assists.

The Sparks still hold a 2-1 series lead, and will try to close the series out on Tuesday, October 4 at 8:00 p.m. ET (ESPN 2).

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