Fever & Lynx take over Game 1 in the conference finals

After Tamika Catchings was announced as the league's most valuable player earlier Thursday, she had 12 points & 13 rebounds to help the Indiana Fever defeat the Atlanta Dream 82-74 in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals.

Catchings sealed the win with one of her signature late-game gems. She stole the ball from Atlanta's Angel McCoughtry, then drove more than half the length of the court, spun through contact and made a behind-the-head layup off the backboard that gave the Fever a 74-66 lead.

Game 2 will be this Sunday in Atlanta as the Fever will look to advance to the WNBA Finals.




Seimone Augustus had 21 points and seven assists to lead the Minnesota Lynx to a 95-67 victory over the Phoenix Mercury in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals.

Maya Moore scored 13 of her 15 points in the first quarter and Candice Wiggins added 14 off the bench for the top-seeded Lynx, who held the highest scoring team in the league 22 points below its regular season average.

Diana Taurasi had 22 points and five rebounds for the Mercury, who were outrebounded 42-26 and shot just 35.7 percent from the field.

With a 1-0 lead, Minnesota will travel to Phoenix for Game 2 this Sunday in hopes of advancing to the WNBA Finals.