Associated Press
SEATTLE – Sue Bird got the better of her former Connecticut teammates.
Bird, the No. 1 pick in this year’s WNBA draft, scored a career-high 27 points and had seven assists as the Seattle Storm defeated the Minnesota Lynx 78-68 in overtime Tuesday night.
The Lynx featured fellow first-round pick Tamika Williams, and Svetlana Abrosimova who played with Bird at Connecticut, this year’s NCAA champions.
“It wasn’t me against Tamika or Svet out there,” Bird said. “But I’m just really happy we won. On the court it’s not that way, but I’m sure we will tease each other off the court.”
In addition to her offensive contributions, Bird also stole the ball from Betty Lennox in overtime to seal the victory for the Storm (2-1). Bird scored eight points in the extra session.
Storm coach Lin Dunn praised the point guard for her play down the stretch.
“She reminds me of a (Mike) Bibby or Jason Kidd,” Dunn said of Bird. “Just give her the ball and she’ll create a shot.”
Abrosimova scored 16 points, had six rebounds and five steals while Katie Smith had 14 points for the Lynx (2-2).
Abrosimova capped a 23-11 run to start the second half when she picked up a turnover by the Storm’s Sonja Henning at halfcourt at 11:08. The Storm went on a nine-point run to pull within one at 5:44 when Adia Barnes made two free throws.
Seattle trailed 68-66 when Kamila Vodichkova was fouled in the lane with 7.4 seconds left. Vodichkova, who had 12 rebounds, landed on her back.
“I hit the floor pretty hard, but I really wanted to get back up and shoot those free throws,” she said. “I was confident on the line because free-throw shooting is my strong side.”
Vodichkova then broke up an inbound pass to force overtime.
In overtime, Bird broke the tie with a 10-foot jumper and then made two free throws to give Seattle the lead for good.
Seattle opened the game on a 11-3 run. Vodichkova, who replaced injured center Lauren Jackson in the starting lineup, scored four of her 12 points in the run.
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