MINNEAPOLIS — Tina Charles had 18 points and 14 rebounds, Sugar Rodgers hit a pair of free throws with 12 seconds left, and the Liberty clinched the top seed in the W.N.B.A’s Eastern Conference with a 75-71 victory over the Minnesota Lynx on Sunday night.
In a matchup of the league’s top teams, the Liberty (22-9, 11-5) earned the No. 1 spot in the East for the first time since 2002 and tied the 2010 team for the franchise’s season record for wins.
The Liberty also moved one and a half games ahead of the Lynx (21-11, 12-4) in the race for home-court advantage throughout the playoffs.