Minneapolis, MN – Seimone Augustus scored 21 points, Maya Moore added 20 and the Minnesota Lynx edged the Seattle Storm, 73-72, to advance to the Western Conference finals.
The Storm had an opportunity to win it in the final seconds, but Lauren Jackson's turnaround jumper clanked off the rim.
Rebekkah Brunson netted 16 points for the defending-champion Lynx, who will host the Los Angeles Sparks in Game 1 of the West finals Thursday night. The Sparks swept the San Antonio Silver Stars in the other semifinal series.
Sue Bird scored 19 points and Camille Little had 17 for Seattle, which won the WNBA title in 2010.
Minnesota held a 69-64 advantage with 3:15 remaining in the contest following Lindsay Whalen's jumper, but Bird nailed a 3-pointer two possessions later to make it a two-point game.
A pair of layups by Augustus and Taj McWilliams-Franklin, sandwiched around a Katie Smith jumper, made it 73-69.
Bird then knocked down another triple with 35 ticks to play, and following a Whalen miss, Seattle regained possession with 10.9 remaining.
But Jackson's jumper was off the mark with 1.3 left.
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