New York ? Katie Douglas and her Connecticut Sun teammates gave the Eastern Conference its first WNBA All-Star game victory.

Douglas scored 16 points, Lindsay Whalen and Taj McWilliams-Franklin had 10 points apiece, and 7-foot-2 center Margo Dydek had nine rebounds and four blocks to lead the East to a 98-82 over the West on Wednesday night at Madison Square Garden.

“It was a great honor for the Connecticut Sun to have four out of five players,” said Douglas, who shot 4-for-7 on three-pointers and had five rebounds and four assists to earn MVP honors. “Having Lindsay Whalen out there as point guard primarily at the time I was out there, she knows where I like the ball. She knows my good spot. As a shooter that’s really important.”

Katie Smith scored 14 points, and Detroit teammate Cheryl Ford added 13 for the East, which lost the first six midseason games.

“We knew the West was coming in with an undefeated record,” Douglas said. We wanted to show we could compete with them. Maybe they were surprised by our defensive effort.”

The East's Katie Douglas, right, tries to drive around the West's Yolanda Griffith. Douglas scored 16 points and was named Most Valuable Player in the East's 98-82 victory against the West Wednesday in New York.

The East, which led by nine at halftime, took control with a 39-13 run spanning the break. Whalen, who also had six assists and five rebounds, stretched the East’s lead to 72-49 with a driving layup with 2:20 left in the third quarter. Tamika Whitmore’s hook shot in the final minute of the period increased the lead to 25, and Candice Dupree’s layup with 7:39 to go gave the East its biggest lead at 85-58.

“We went into halftime believing that we can go on a little run,” the Houston Comets’ Dawn Staley said. “But they came out on fire. They took advantage of every opportunity they had to open the game up.

“Any time you get four Connecticut players, they’re a machine. They work together.”

Minnesota rookie Seimone Augustus was the only double-figure scorer for the West, finishing with 16 points. Seattle’s Sue Bird, Phoenix’s Diana Taurasi and Los Angeles’ Lisa Leslie added nine points apiece.

“They just put me in good position to score,” Augustus said. “I wasn’t looking to come out and try to outshoot anybody. It was just in the rhythm of the game. It was fun. Nobody wants to lose.”

The East won despite playing without injured starters Tamika Catchings of Indiana, Nykesha Sales of Connecticut and New York’s Becky Hammon. Douglas, Washington’s Alana Beard and Detroit’s Ford replaced them in the starting lineup.

“Pretty good experience, I don’t know anything’s gonna top that,” Douglas said. “I was happy to be a reserve,” Douglas said. “With injuries, I was bumped into the starting lineup. I just kind of rolled with it, got off to a good start.”