Lynx have way with Liberty

A lot of Lynx contributed Tuesday as Minnesota broke a five-game losing streak by trouncing New York 91-69 at Target Center before an announced crowd of 6,280.

Guard Seimone Augustus had a team-high 21 points for the Lynx; she came in averaging 18.8 points.

The special efforts: Nicole Ohlde, a 6-5 forward, scored a season-high 14 points and made seven of eight shots from the field.

Lindsey Harding, playing in only her third game after recovering from a knee injury, looked sharp for the first time. She had seven points, all in the last 12 minutes, and three assists and three steals.

And Kristen Rasmussen, a reserve forward, had eight points and six rebounds.

The Lynx also shot 50.8 percent from the field, and 36 of the team's points came in the paint.

"The motivation for [our] post players was the comment Janel [McCarville] made in the papers," Augustus said. "They kind of fed off of that. So thank you, Janel, for that great comment."

McCarville had four points and seven rebounds.

Forward Shameka Christon led the Liberty (6-6) with 20 points but she fouled out with 5 minutes, 2 seconds to play.

The Liberty edged Minnesota 77-76 at Madison Square Garden for their sixth victory in a row over the Lynx. And New York had won seven games in a row on the Lynx's floor since Minnesota's 60-58 victory in 1999.

This night Minnesota led 45-37 at halftime after shooting 52.9 percent (18-for-34). The Lynx were also moving the ball around well, with 15 assists versus only six turnovers.

Augustus had 15 points in the first half. Ohlde had 10 after making all five shots she took.

Through three quarters, the Lynx led 65-56 and pulled away with a 12-2 run that started midway through the final quarter.

Notes • McCarville was applauded loudly when she was introduced as New York's starting center. McCarville looked a lot different: she was slimmer and her hair was black instead of blonde.