Lynx's comeback bid comes up short in end

NEW YORK — When the Lynx fell behind by 16 points Saturday night, it appeared their sixth consecutive loss to the New York Liberty could be a foregone conclusion.

As it turned out, the Lynx did lose for the fourth time in five games, falling 77-76 to New York before an announced crowd of 7,452 at Madison Square Garden. But after trailing by 16 in the final minute of the third quarter, they had a chance to win as the clock wound down.

"We've got a group of fighters," Lynx coach Don Zierden said. "They fought the whole way through the game. ... We have lost two games by one point and one game by four points. For a young team, I am proud of the way we fought."

After Anna DeForge's fast-break layup pulled the Lynx within one with 18.4 seconds left, the Liberty were whistled for an eight-second violation for failing to advance the ball past midcourt.

DeForge inbounded the ball to rookie Candice Wiggins, who went to the right, pump faked and put up a shot that bounced off the rim and was knocked away and grabbed by Cathrine Kraayeveld as time ran out.

"I was looking to turn the corner," said Wiggins, who had 18 of her season-high 26 points in the second half. "They did a good job, they switched ahead of time. I got a good look. I just didn't knock it down."

Kraayeveld and Shameka Christon scored 13 points each, and former Gophers center Janel McCarville added 12 points for the Liberty (5-4), who won for the fourth time in five games.

Erin Thorn hit a three-pointer and Christon made a free throw to push New York's lead to 12 with 5:53 left. However, the Lynx scored nine consecutive points, started and finished by baskets from Augustus, to cut the deficit to 71-68 with 3 1/2 minutes to go.

McCarville had a jumper and Christon a layup to stretch the lead to seven with 2:19 to go.

"We expected them to make a run, and they made it late in the fourth quarter," Christon said. "But I think we were very poised. ... We were very focused on getting the job done. ... We were going to make them beat us by taking a tough shot."
The Liberty shot 48 percent from the field (29-for-60), including 8-for-16 on three-pointers.

Minnesota was 44 percent from the floor (28-for-64) and just 6-for-14 on 3s. The Lynx were outrebounded 33-25 and finished with just seven assists.

"We did a great job all game of playing our game," Kraayeveld said. "We focused on what we needed to do — play well defensively and offensively. It was just a great team effort."

Wiggins' three pulled the Lynx to 55-47, but Jackson and McCarville had two baskets each in an 8-0 run to double New York's lead to 16 with 27 seconds left in the quarter.

However, the Lynx scored nine straight points, started and finished by baskets from Augustus, to cut the deficit to 71-68 with 3½ minutes to go.