Minneapolis ? Betty Lennox scored 17 of her season-high 23 points in the second half as the Seattle Storm defeated Minnesota, 70-55, Friday night.

Sue Bird scored 12 points, and Lauren Jackson added 11 as the Storm solidified their hold on second place in the West by dominating the third-place Lynx in the second half.

Seattle led 30-26 at halftime and used a 15-2 run that spanned the break to take a 10-point lead early in the second half. The Storm later scored eight straight points to push their lead to 49-33. Minnesota was unable to pull within single digits the rest of the game.

Lennox, who played for the Lynx from 2000-2002, hit 8-of-17 from the field and 6-of-7 free throws.

Vanessa Hayden scored 12 points, and Svetlana Abrosimova had nine points and nine rebounds to lead the Lynx, who ended a six-game home winning streak.

Minnesota played its second straight game without Katie Smith, the WNBA’s third leading scorer (18.8). She is on the injured reserve list with a bruised knee.

Shock 88, Liberty 79

Auburn Hills, Mich. — Cheryl Ford had 19 points and nine rebounds to help Detroit beat New York.

Swin Cash added 15 points and seven of Detroit’s franchise-record 28 assists, while Ruth Riley added 12 points and nine rebounds. The Shock, who were 0-2 against the Liberty this season, set a season high in points.

Becky Hammon and Elena Baranova had 12 points each to lead New York, which had its three-game winning streak snapped.

Mystics 69, Sun 68

Washington — Rookie Alana Beard scored 14 points to lead Washington over Connecticut.

Muriel Page added 13, and Kansas University product Nakia Sanford had 13 points and 10 rebounds for Washington.

The Mystics played without Chamique Holdsclaw, who has missed two of the last three games because of an undisclosed medical condition.

Nykesha Sales led the Sun with 23 points.

Mercury 68, Silver Stars 59

San Antonio — Anna DeForge scored 23 points to lead Phoenix over San Antonio.

Phoenix won its fourth straight game with help from Penny Taylor’s 18 points and Plenette Pierson’s 10.