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PHOENIX -- With another decisive sequence, the Minnesota Lynx have put themselves in position to repeat as WNBA champions.Maya Moore scored 20 points and Natasha Howard added 17 to help the Lynx beat the Phoenix Mercury 82-67 on Sunday, completing a three-game sweep of the semifinal series.Defensively we feel like we got better from the first game to the third game but it was still a hard game, said Seimone Augustus, who had 12 points and three steals for Minnesota. Today just felt like a day when we were playing great basketball on both ends of the floor.The Lynx dominated the Mercury for three games, averaging 97 points a game and a double-digit victory each time. Phoenix hadnt played a home game in the playoffs until Sunday and has been on the road a majority of the last month.These players have a lot of mileage on their tires, so to speak, said Phoenix coach Sandy Brondello. But they certainly competed. Minnesota has too much chemistry I would probably say. Just different people stepping up, they play very well together.Minnesota coach Cheryl Reeve acknowledged that the Lynx may have caught a bit of a break with a road-weary Mercury squad, even at home.We have a team that is fairly deep, we can throw some different things at them, she said. So hopefully we got to that point where we get some separation.The top-seeded Lynx, who also eliminated the Mercury in the penultimate round a year ago, await the winner of Los Angeles-Chicago in their return trip to the WNBA finals.Diana Taurasi had 12 points, after averaging 26.5 in her first four playoff games this year, as the eighth-seeded Mercury again had trouble with turnovers (15) and shot just 41 percent from the field. Taurasi was held to just one point in the second half, missing her three attempts from the field, all from 3-point range.Howard had six points during a key third quarter run that saw the Lynx pull away as they did against Phoenix in the second quarter of Game 1 and the third quarter of Game 2. Minnesota started the second half on an 8-1 run and built a 55-43 advantage after six minutes and held on.(Howard) is such an active screener, she creates offense for the team, Reeve said. She creates flow, any time shes on the floor. Shes such a timely screener. Shes gets out of her screens very quickly.Reeve added, She had some plays in that third quarter that really gave us that separation. Just being persistent.Lindsay Whalen added 11 points, all in the first half, for the Lynx, who have appeared in the WNBA Finals in five of the last six years, winning the title three times.DeWanna Bonner added 12 points and six rebounds for the Mercury.I think we definitely lost to a better team, said Phoenixs Penny Taylor. We didnt play obviously our best, but credit to them and what they were able to do. They have played well all year.Taylor, who has won three WNBA titles with Phoenix and two silver medals for Australian, finished with four points but ended her career third in franchise history in points and games, and second in steals, assists and 3-pointers. She announced her retirement after 13 seasons during the Rio Olympics break.TIP-INS:Minnesota is now 10-2 against the Mercury in the postseason. The Lynx swept the Mercury in the conference finals, which was a best-of-3 series last season, eliminating Phoenix in the same arena on a late free throw by Moore. Phoenix won the 2014 conference series against Minnesota 2-1 on its way to the third WNBA title. Coming off a WNBA playoff-record 63 free throws, the teams combined for 28 foul shots on Sunday.HOME AWAY FROM HOME, PART 2: While the two teams played at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, as opposed to the Lynx usual home at the Target Center, the Mercury would have faced a similar situation for Game 4 of the semifinals. With a Sia concert scheduled for Tuesday, the teams would have played at Grand Canyon University, where former Phoenix Suns star Dan Majerle coaches basketball.ELIMINATION TIME: Taurasi is now 13-4 in elimination games in her WNBA career. The Lynx have beaten Phoenix in the playoffs four times in the last six years. Minnesota has won nine straight against Phoenix, including 6-0 this season.Alec Burks Warriors Jersey . There are surprises among the Vezina candidates, but most of the others are standard top-tier performers, even if the two Hart Trophy runners-ups have never been quite as good as they have been through the first half of the season. Latrell Sprewell Warriors Jersey . The CFLs leading rusher kept adding to his gaudy numbers this season and scored the winning touchdown with just over two minutes to play. The New Westminster, B.C., native plowed three yards into the end zone for the last score of a heated, see-saw battle between the two teams with the best records in the CFL. https://www.warriorsrookiesshop.com/David-West-City-Edition-Jersey/ . Clarkson had been dealing with an elbow injury in early January and will be out of action for at least one week. He has three goals and five assists through 36 games with the Leafs this season. DAngelo Russell Jersey . Anthony Calvillo, through 20 CFL seasons, was frequently invincible and largely stoic in the heat of competition. But underneath the professional exterior he was, and is, compellingly human. Jordan Poole Warriors Jersey .Y. -- Bills receiver Stevie Johnson has a bone to pick with the NFL schedule maker.PROVO, Utah -- UCLA will take any win it can get after a season-opening loss to unranked Texas A&M, but Saturday night sure wasnt pretty.Josh Rosen threw for 307 yards and two touchdowns as UCLA suffocated BYU 17-14 on Saturday night.Neither offense shined as the two defenses controlled most of the night, but UCLA (2-1) was able to hold BYU (1-2) to 273 yards, including 23 on the ground. The Cougars were limited to negative rushing yards until late in the third quarter and 91 of those offensive yards came on their final possession.UCLA fans hoped to see the Rosen thats expected to be a high first-round NFL draft pick after a mediocre start to the season, but BYU never allowed him to feel completely comfortable. Rosen, however, completed a handful of big passing plays, including a 33-yard touchdown to Darren Andrews.Josh has such high expectations for himself that, sometimes, he lets it get the best of him, UCLA coach Jim Mora said. He has to realize hes not going to play a perfect game. He just has to play up to his ability level and his capabilities.BYU quarterback Taysom Hill finished with 250 passing yards, one touchdown one interception and was sacked four times.Weve got to start clicking offensively, BYU coach Kalani Sitake said. We were able to do it some drives ... but we have to start doing that throughout the game. We need to be able to sustain that and be more consistent. Obviously, thats what our focus is going to be on going into this next week.THE TAKEAWAYBYU: A second consecutive loss puts BYU in an awkward position. Such is life as an independent. Without a conference championship to play for, a berth in the College Football Playoffs is basically eliminated. The Cougars are already contracted for the Poinsettia Bowl if they arent selected to a New Years Six bowl. With two losses and nine games to go, including Michigan State and Mississippi State, thats unlikely. The BYU defense continued to play better than expected this season, but the offense regressed for a third consecutive game.Yeah, its gut check time, Sitake said. You can either let adversity divide you or unite you. I think our team is united. We are all on the same page and nobody is pointing fingers or blaming anybody else we just have to be better in some phases than others.We just have to get to work. You cant blame it all on one phase -- special teams wise, defensively and offensively we just need to play ouur game plan.ddddddddddddCLA: The Bruins defense solidified after a pair of shaky performances to start the season. UCLA gave up 378 rushing yards and five rushing touchdowns in the first two games, but held running back Jamaal Williams to 28 yards and shut down the mobile Hill. The Bruins also blanketed the Cougar receivers, giving Hill few options in the pass game. Jayon Brown had a team-high nine tackles.We played a ton of man coverage, Mora said. Those young men did a tremendous job under a lot of stress and that allowed our rush to get there.UP NEXTBYU: The Cougars play their fourth consecutive team from a Power 5 conference with a neutral site game against West Virginia at FedEx Field -- home of the Washington Redskins -- in Greater Landover, Maryland on Saturday.UCLA: The Bruins begin Pac-12 play, hosting No. 7 Stanford on Saturday.STREAKS CONTINUEUCLA is now 34-1 under Jim Mora when leading at halftime. The Bruins have also won 47 straight regular season games when holding an opponent under 20 points.NUMBERS SOMETIMES LIEThe Cougars first scoring drive came with the help of three defensive holding calls that totaled 24 yards. One came on a pass in the end zone to give BYU first-and-goal from the two-yard line. Thats seven points and a 75-yard drive that may not have happened without the penalties -- plus the final 91-yard drive -- making the game look closer than it actually was.QB CONTROVERSY?Hill struggled mightily for the second consecutive game despite a decent stat sheet. He missed open receivers and was repeatedly run down from behind trying to scramble. Sophomore Tanner Mangum is considered a better pure passer, if Mangum isnt creating with his legs. Sitake said they considered making the change at halftime, but decided against it.CANT COMPLAINBYU has held all three Power 5 opponents to 20 points or less this season. Sitake is a former defensive coordinator at Oregon State and Utah, but the defensive unit has exceeded expectations. Butch Pauu had a career-high 19 tackles Saturday.QUOTABLEI just wasnt connecting, Rosen said. I wasnt executing. It gets frustrating when balls just kind of sail and get away from you.It gets real frustrating. Sometimes you got to go back to basics and kind of look at yourself in the mirror and hit the reset button. ' ' '