Charlotte, N.C. ? Taj McWilliams-Franklin scored 16 points and Katie Douglas added 13 as the Connecticut Sun beat the Charlotte Sting, 68-62, Saturday, completing 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 against either Detroit or Cleveland.

“This gives our players the faith that we are going in the right direction.” Sun coach Mike Thibault said.

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

“We had our chances, but the shots weren’t falling for us,” Stinson said. “There are some things we need to work on, but we’ll be back.”

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.

Sparks 80, Lynx 69

Los Angeles — Lisa Leslie scored 20 points, and Kansas University product Tamecka Dixon added 17, leading Los Angeles to victory and tying its playoff series with Minnesota at 1.

Katie Smith led the Lynx with 18 points.