Lynx star Maya Moore won't lead her Shanxi Rui Flame to a fourth consecutive Women's Chinese Basketball Association (WCBA) title this season.
Shanxi lost 80-62 last weekend to the Beijing Great Wall in Game 3 of their best-of-three WCBA quarterfinal series. And it was Moore's Lynx teammate, 6-6 center Sylvia Fowles, who was the main reason for the loss.
Fowles had 30 points (12-for-16 shooting) and 13 rebounds in the deciding game, continuing her strong play in the series. She had 33 points and eight rebounds in Game 1, a 79-65 Shanxi win, and 35 points and 12 rebounds in Game 2, an 84-79 Beijing win.
Moore, who took the first part of the CWBA season off, had 45 and 29 points in the first two games of the series, respectively. She had 33 points and nine rebounds in Game 3 when her shot was a bit off.
Moore was 11-for-27, 1-for-4 on three-pointers. She did make 10 of 11 free throws, had three steals, three assists (but five turnovers) and two blocks.
The defending champion Lynx will open their 18th WNBA season May 14, against Phoenix at Target Center.
