Target Center fell silent. The sound of hope.

With 6 minutes, 26 seconds left Thursday night, Lynx forward Nicky Anosike stood at the free-throw line, shooting a seemingly routine foul shot during an inspiring stretch. Anosike cut what was once a 19-point deficit to one.

Yet as much as the Lynx scrapped and clawed, they still fell short 82-78 to the Sacramento Monarchs before an announced crowd of 4,875.

"The whole game was someone would step up and then someone would stop playing well," Lynx coach Don Zierden said. "There were lots of people coming in and out of this game."

After taking a 10-point lead early, the Lynx stumbled through a 13-turnover first half. The sloppiness continued, as the Lynx (6-3) finished with a season-high 21 turnovers--including one on the final possession.

"Twenty-one turnovers?" Lynx forward Seimone Augustus said. "We need to be able to take care of the ball. ... Sacramento is a very defensive-minded team. They are going to get after you. You can't leave passes out there because they are going to get them."

Zierden added: "We need to learn to adjust to the pressure they put on. We need to become tighter on the sets, tighter with the screens, tighter in the way we pop off."

The Lynx are 1-12 against the Monarchs in their past 13 tries and haven't beat Sacramento at home since July 11, 2004. The Monarchs return to Minnesota June 26.

Augustus tried to rescue the Lynx, scoring seven of the team's first 10 points to start the second half, which her team entered down 15. She finished with a team-high 21.

The real spark was rookie Candice Wiggins, who re-entered the game halfway through the third quarter, after exiting early before halftime with three fouls. She controlled the tempo of the offense and finished with 17 points and five assists, while converting nine of 11 from the line.

Nicole Powell and Crystal Kelly led the Monarchs (5-4) with 18 each. Kelly, who Zierden admitted was once high on the Lynx draft board, had a previous season high of 10.

Sacramento dominated the second quarter, going 9-for-14 from the field. In the past eight minutes of the first half, the Lynx were outscored 21-6.

The Lynx kicked off the second half on a 16-10 run. They cut the lead to eight by the end of the third quarter and battled--but never led--until the final buzzer.

"Whether you're 5-0, 6-3 or 10-24, it's always time to get to work," Zierden said. "They've been working hard, but sometimes you just have to roll up your sleeves."