Sun 60, Storm 58
SEATTLE -- The Connecticut Sun weren't good most of Sunday night, until it mattered.
In the last minute, trailing by four against a Seattle team missing Lauren Jackson and Sue Bird to injuries, Connecticut scored the last six points to escape KeyArena with a 60-58 win that put the Sun two games ahead of Indiana in the Eastern Conference.
Renee Montgomery drained two free throws with 14.4 seconds remaining to give the Sun (23-9) a 59-58 edge and Mistie Mims sank a foul shot with 2.7 seconds on the clock for a two-point cushion. Storm rookie Shekinna Stricklen missed a game-winning 3-pointer just before time expired.
Kara Lawson scored a game-high 13 points for Connecticut, including a 3-pointer with 51.5 seconds left that drew her team a point behind. It was one of just two hits from distance in 14 attempts for the Sun, which simply couldn't make a shot most of the evening.
They canned only 23-of-69 field-goal tries and that was with Lawson and Tina Charles, who tallied a dozen points, combining to make 12-of-23. Mims added 11 points and Montgomery collected 10, but they teamed to sink only 6-of-23 attempts.
Stricklen scored 12 points in a reserve role for Seattle (13-18), which has lost four straight but is locked into the fourth playoff spot in the Western Conference. Camille Little added 11 points and Tanisha Wright had 10, but the Storm committed 25 turnovers to cancel out their small edge on the boards (33-29) and good defensive work.
Connecticut returns home for its final two games, starting Wednesday night at Mohegan Sun when it takes on Indiana.
