ROSEMONT, Ill. (AP) - Maya Moore had been unstoppable on offense through Minnesota’s first four games. It was her stellar defense that kept the Lynx undefeated.
Moore and the Lynx held second-leading scorer Elena Delle Donne to just 16 points to remain perfect with a 75-72 win over the Chicago Sky on Monday in a showdown of undefeated teams.
“Coming into the game my biggest concern was defense,” said Moore, who scored 14 points - well short of her 33.8 average coming into the game. “I knew I was going to be matched up against Elena and that was my main focus and what my effort was going into. (And) we all shared the ball and took our moments to step up and hit shots.”
Lindsay Whalen led the Lynx with 22 points, Seimone Augustus added 17 and Tan White had 10 points off the bench for the Lynx (5-0).
“They do have a lot of heads to the snake,” said Delle Donne about Minnesota’s multiple threats.
Delle Donne, who came into the game averaging 23.5 points, was joined in double figures by Jessica Breland (16) while reserve Allie Quigley added a career-high 15 points for Chicago (4-1).
Delle Donne tied the game at 63-63 with a long jumper with 6:33 to play and added a put back for a 65-63 lead with 5:02 showing.
But the advantage didn’t last as White had back-to-back scores to give the Lynx a lead it never relinquished at 67-65. Delle Donne launched an off-balance three-point try as time expired, but the potential game-tying shot missed.
Chicago was again without guard Epiphanny Prince, who was on the bench in street clothes for the second straight game after her return last week following a lengthy personal leave. The Sky were also still missing Sylvia Fowles, who is sidelined while recovering from a hip injury.
The Sky continue a five-game home stand on Friday against Connecticut. The Lynx host San Antonio on Friday in the first of a home-and-home series and continues next Sunday.
Whalen scored 12 points in the first half -matching the combined 12 from Lynx top guns Moore and Augustus on the way to a 42-39 halftime lead.
Quigley had 10 points while Delle Donne, who was second in the league in scoring, was held without a point for nearly 10 minutes and closed the half with seven.
The Lynx used a 10-2 run with 8:26 left in the half to claim a 28-26 lead and made it 42-37 lead following Damiris Dantas’ layup with 1:07 showing.
The Sky trailed 59-56 following Courtney Clements’ jumper with 59 seconds left in the third. But Whalen’s fade way jumper with 21 seconds left closed scoring, giving the Lynx a 61-56 lead.
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