Diana Taurasi scored 23 points and Tangela Smith added 16 for the Phoenix Mercury in a 92-73 win Saturday at San Antonio, sweeping the Silver Stars in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs.
Becky Hammon led the Silver Stars with 21 points and seven assists. Sophia Young had 15 points, and Ruth Riley added 13.
Phoenix, which will meet Seattle in the conference finals, has eliminated San Antonio from the playoffs three times in four years. The previous two times - 2007 and 2009 - the Mercury went on to win the WNBA championship.
Candice Dupree scored 13 of her 19 points in the second half and had 11 rebounds for Phoenix. Penny Taylor added 12 points and 12 assists for the Mercury, which shot 53 percent from the field.
Taurasi and Smith combined to make the Mercury's first nine shots as it sprinted to a 21-2 lead in the first 8 minutes.
Storm 81, Sparks 66: Lauren Jackson had 24 points and nine rebounds as Seattle won in Los Angeles to complete a sweep of their Western Conference semifinal series.
Swin Cash scored 16 points, and Sue Bird added 15 to lead Seattle, which was a league-best 28-6 in the regular season and won a postseason series for the first time since winning the WNBA finals in 2004.
Once again, Busch wins
Kyle Busch withstood two late challenges for the lead from Todd Bodine and hung on to win the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at Chicagoland Speedway in overtime Friday night in Joliet, Ill.
It is Busch's second straight truck win at Chicagoland, his fourth series victory of the season and 20th of his career. And it comes in the wake of his remarkable three-race weekend sweep at Bristol.
Busch did a tire-smoking victory burnout on the frontstretch, with his crew warning him on the radio to take it easy on the engine.
Bodine finished second, followed by Ron Hornaday Jr., Johnny Sauter and Justin Lofton.
Ambrose on pole in Nationwide
Marcos Ambrose won the pole for the NAPA Auto Parts 200 Nationwide Series race at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal.
Ambrose turned a fast lap of 97.079 mph Saturday to edge French Canadian star Jacques Villeneuve's 96.924 mph. Joey Logano, who finished second at Watkins Glen to Ambrose three weeks ago, qualified third at 96.650 mph, while defending race winner Carl Edwards was fourth at 96.344 mph. Series points leader Brad Keselowski will start eighth in today's race.
Qualifying was divided into eight groups, with assignments based on practice times from the first session, which Villeneuve and Edwards topped with identical speeds.
Franchitti earns IndyCar victory
Dario Franchitti's pit strategy gamble paid off, helping him to win a frantic IndyCar Series race at Chicagoland Speedway on Saturday night.
It was a tough night for series points leader Will Power, who was running among the leaders when he abruptly went to pit road for an extra fuel stop with five laps left in the race. He finished 16th.
That's an ideal scenario for Franchitti, who came into Saturday's race trailing Power by 59 points in the standings.
Dan Wheldon finished second, followed by Marco Andretti, Ryan Hunter-Reay and Tony Kanaan.
Webber takes Belgian GP pole
Mark Webber has his sights set on maintaining his Formula One championship lead after taking the pole position for the Belgian Grand Prix in Spa-Francorchamps.
Webber's fifth pole of the year put the Red Bull driver in prime position for a fifth victory to extend his four-point lead in the drivers' standings.
GP penalties assessed: A gearbox penalty to Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg compounded what is shaping up to be a tough Belgian Grand Prix for the German Formula One team.
Michael Schumacher qualified 11th and Rosberg 12th at Spa on Saturday, but the German pair are both set to drop down the starting grid due to penalties.
Schumacher will drop 10 places for nearly forcing Rubens Barrichello into a wall at high speed at the preceding Hungarian GP, while Rosberg's replacement of his gearbox before qualifying means he will be penalized five places.
Wozniacki wins Pilot Pen tennis
U.S. Open top seed Caroline Wozniacki won her third consecutive Pilot Pen tennis title, beating Russian Nadia Petrova 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 on Saturday in New Haven, Conn.
Ukrainian Sergiy Stakhovsky won the men's event, beating Denis Istomin of Uzbekistan 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 in the final.
Kariya will miss NHL season
Free-agent forward Paul Kariya will not play next season after being diagnosed with post-concussion syndrome.
The decision was announced Friday through a release from his agent.
Kariya, 35, spent the last three seasons with the St. Louis Blues. He had 18 goals and 25 assists last season.
Goalie guilty of DUI: Edmonton Oilers goalie Nikolai Khabibulin has been found guilty on charges stemming from a DUI arrest in February.
The decision was handed down Friday, and the four-time All-Star could face up to six months in jail when he is sentenced Tuesday.
The 37-year-old played for Phoenix from 1996-99 and still has a home in Paradise Valley, Ariz. He was pulled over in his Ferrari on Feb. 8, after the car was clocked at 70 mph in a 45 mph zone.
Khabibulin, who signed a four-year, $15 million deal with Edmonton last year, hasn't played since Nov. 16 because of a herniated disk in his back that required surgery.
Leafs sign MacArthur: Forward Clarke MacArthur has signed a one-year contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs.
MacArthur had 16 goals and 19 assists last season between the Buffalo Sabres and Atlanta Thrashers.
The Associated Press
RailHawks fall to Islanders
The Carolina RailHawks (9-8-7, 34 pts) fell to the Puerto Rico Islanders (8-7-8, 32 pts) 3-2 on Saturday night in Cary.
Daniel Paladini tallied two goals for Carolina, and Andriy Budnyy earned an assist in his first start of the season.
With the score tied 1-1 at halftime, the Islanders struck in the 76th minute on a goal by Sandy Gbandi. Two minutes later Nick Addlery scored to make it 3-1.
The RailHawks play host to Crystal Palace Baltimore at 7 p.m. Friday.
FC Dallas sets road record
FC Dallas set a Major League Soccer record for going unbeaten on the road and extended its overall undefeated streak to 12 with a 0-0 tie against the Columbus Crew on Saturday.
Dallas (9-2-10) has gone 3-0-7 in its past 10 away matches to break the mark held by the Crew and Chicago Fire. FCD has seven wins and five ties in its past 12 games to move into third in the Western Conference.
Columbus (12-5-5) remains first in the East.
The Associated Press
