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Candice Wiggins' big night leads WNBA victory (quotes added)
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The Lynx' Nicky Anosike shoots over Shameka Christon/AP photo Hannah Foslien
With the Minnesota Lynx' top scorer out for the season, former Stanford player Candice Wiggins took it upon herself to generate her team's offense in Tuesday's WNBA game.
Wiggins, in her second season in the WNBA, broke out of her recent slump by scoring a season-high 25 points.while adding five assists to lead the Lynx past the New York Liberty 69-57 in Minneapolis.
Wiggins had a talk with coach Jennifer Gillom after the Lynx had lost three of their last four games. In that span, Wiggins had averaged 8.5 points on 30.6 percent shooting and was 0-for-8 on three-pointers.
"Coach Jen says every player goes through slumps," Wiggins told Associated Press. "I was like, 'No, they don't.' I missed 1,000, 10,000 shots this season, but when that first shot goes in, it's like, 'I'm back.'"
Wiggins had said after Seimone Augustus tore her anterior-cruiciate ligament last week that her role would have to change. And she showed how it would change on Tuesday, becoming the focal point of the Minnesota attack.
Wiggins had all 25 points and all five assists before the third quarter was over, and she was a major factor in the Lynx' spurt that put the game out of reach. Minnesota led by just two points early in the third quarter, but the Lynx then went on a 21-2 run, with Wiggins contributing seven points and two assists in that span.
"She seemed to take over that Seimone role and did a great job," Gillom told Associated Press. "She didn't only think about herself; she was also playing for the team."
The second-half spurt increased the Lynx' lead to 21 points in the final minute of the third quarter, and they crusied in from there. Wiggins fell two points shy of her career high in points established last season, and on Tuesday, she had no points and no assists in the final period, most of which she spent on the Lynx' bench with the outcome no longer in doubt.
Wiggins made 4 of 6 three-point attempts on Tuesday.
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