Sun Eliminates Sting With Semifinal Sweep

Taj McWilliams-Franklin scored 16 points and Katie Douglas had 13 as the Connecticut Sun beat the Charlotte Sting, 68-62, Saturday to complete a sweep of the best-of-three Eastern Conference semifinal series.

Shannon Johnson finished with eight assists as Connecticut, formerly the Orlando Miracle, advanced to the conference finals to play either Detroit or Cleveland.

Andrea Stinson scored 16 of her game-high 25 points in the second half for Charlotte, which shot 37% from the field and lost its sixth straight playoff game dating to the 2001 WNBA Finals.

Charlotte trimmed a 17-point halftime deficit to 62-56 on a three-point play by Stinson with 1:43 left. Connecticut’s Brooke Wyckoff countered with a three-point basket with 1:10 remaining.

The Sting pulled within six on Allison Feaster’s three-pointer with 54.6 seconds remaining, before Johnson’s driving layup made it 67-59 with 29.4 seconds to go.

From Associated Press