Lynx turns back Chicago, regains winning feeling

ROSEMONT, ILL. - The Lynx had something in reserve -- several somethings -- when they needed it Friday.

Four substitutes came up big, and Lindsey Whalen was the best of the starters, helping the Lynx beat Chicago 79-76.

Whalen scored 16 points and also had six assists and four rebounds. Her 7-for-9 shooting stood out among the starters.

Seimone Augustus scored 14 points but went 4-for-13 shooting. Starting forward Rebekkah Brunson went 1-for-5, and center Taj McWilliams-Franklin went 1-for-7. Maya Moore scored 13 points, but she made five turnovers.

All five starters were in negative numbers in the plus-minus statistic, which measures points for and against when a player is in the game.

The four reserves who played produced much different plus-minus figures. All were at least 10 points to the positive, and three were at plus-18 and beyond.

Candice Wiggins made four of the six three-pointers she tried for 12 points and also got seven rebounds.

Jessica Adair played only 10 minutes but scored six points, got three rebounds and blocked four shots.

Amber Harris scored six points and had five rebounds in 17 minutes, and Monica Wright scored six points on 3-for-4 shooting in 11 minutes.

The Lynx (17-5) has won 12 of its past 14 games.

Sylvia Fowles scored 28 points to lead the Sky (10-14), which has lost four of its past five. Tamera Young scored 16 points for Chicago.

The Lynx had to turn back a rally. The Sky scored six consecutive points in a 34-second span to make it 78-76 on Eshaya Murphy's layup with 39 seconds to go, but she missed a layup with 3 seconds to go.

Chicago trailed 61-54 entering the fourth quarter but made it 64-63 on Murphy's fast-break basket. Wiggins made back-to-back three-pointers to restore Minnesota's seven-point lead.