Seattle Sweeps; Bird Breaks Nose

The Seattle Storm lost the services of U.S. Olympic point guard Sue Bird in the opening minutes but pressed on to eliminate the Minnesota Lynx, 64-54, Monday at Seattle and advance to the WNBA Western Conference finals.

Lauren Jackson led the Storm with 18 points. It was the first time Seattle, which swept the best-of-three series, has advanced past the first round of the playoffs.

Bird’s nose was broken with 17:37 left in the first half when she was hit while setting a screen on Minnesota’s Teresa Edwards. As Edwards tried to fight through the screen, her elbow caught Bird in the face. Seattle Coach Anne Donovan said that it was a “bad break” and that Bird’s nose was still bleeding after the game. X-rays were scheduled for today. Bird said she expected to be able to play in the next series.

She did return to the Seattle bench midway through the second half and watched as her team, trailing, 48-45, with slightly less than 10 minutes left, went on a 14-1 run to take a 59-49 lead with less than three minutes left.

Connecticut 80, Washington 70 -- Lindsay Whalen matched her career high with 21 points, and the Sun won at Uncasville, Conn., to even the best-of-three first-round series at 1-1.

The Sun made 30 of its 32 free throws, with Whalen sinking 15 of her 16. Nykesha Sales scored 13 points and set a playoff record with a career-best seven steals. Connecticut scored 21 points on 17 Washington turnovers.

Mystic rookie Alana Beard scored 15 points.