Lynx leaders emerge, take charge vs. Liberty

Someone had to lead the Lynx on Tuesday. Seimone Augustus (knee) was there for inspiration only; the player with the highest scoring average in WNBA history was walking around on crutches.

Charde Houston, the team's top active scorer, averaging 16.9 points, was in foul trouble all game. She scored two points in a little more than 12 minutes.

A scenario for disaster? Not this night. Candice Wiggins came out shooting and hitting. The second-year guard from Stanford scored a season-high 25 points as the Lynx beat the New York Liberty 69-57 at Target Center before an announced crowd of 5,620.

A whacky third quarter pretty much settled the outcome. The Liberty (2-4) scored the first nine points of the second half, closing to within 38-36.

Wiggins and Nicky Anosike, the team's 6-3 starting center, reversed the tide. They combined for the first 11 points in a 13-0 run that put Minnesota back in control at 51-36 with almost three minutes left in the third quarter.

Anosike scored on a layup off her steal and Wiggins followed by sinking a three-pointer for a 43-36 advantage. The Lynx (5-3) broke a two-game losing streak.

"Candice Wiggins took over tonight," Lynx coach Jen Gillom said. "She was our go-to player tonight, and she seemed to want to take over that Seimone role and did a great job."

Anosike, leading the WNBA in steals with 3.1 per game, had five more and a block.

"Nicky's defense really got us started in the second half," Gillom said. "When we went on our run, I saw the Nicky of old evolve -- even back to her Tennessee games. She can change a game."

So can Wiggins. But in her previous four games, she was averaging only 8.5 points. She had 12 points in the Lynx's last game on Friday, a 90-62 beating by Seattle.

"Candice and I had a talk on the way back from Seattle," Gillom said. "I said great players go through slumps. She needed a game like this to get out of it."

Wiggins, the WNBA's Sixth Player of the Year last season when she averaged 15.8 points, said her slump was a mental thing. "After the first shot went in [tonight], I knew I was back," Wiggins said.

Roneeka Hodges, starting in Augustus' spot, had 10 points.

Shameka Christon matched Wiggins' 25 points for the Liberty, but nobody else had more than six. Former Gopher Janel McCar- ville struggled to four points, six rebounds and six turnovers.