SEATTLE – Renee Montgomery moved the Connecticut Sun closer to clinching the Eastern Conference title.
Montgomery made two free throws with 14.4 seconds to go to help the Sun beat the short-handed Seattle Storm, 60-58, on Sunday night.
“It was ugly, but we’ll take it,” Sun coach Mike Thibault said.
Tina Charles agreed.
“It was one of the ugliest games I’ve ever played in in my life,” Charles said. “The turnovers they had (25), the turnovers we had (12). It was really frustrating, especially when you’re a No. 1 team and you’re going into the playoffs.”
Connecticut shot 33.3 percent (23 of 69) from the field, including 2-of-14 accuracy from 3-point range.
Montgomery drew a foul against Camille Little to set up the free throws that made it 59-58.
Connecticut improved to 23-9 and moved two games ahead of Indiana atop the Eastern Conference.
Kara Lawson led the Sun with 13 points.
Shekinna Stricklen scored 12 points to lead Seattle (13-18), but the rookie missed two shots in the final seconds. The Storm has lost four games in a row.
“I thought it was a great effort and we definitely put ourselves in position to win the game,” Storm coach Brian Agler said. “I feel bad for our team that we didn’t come through.”
The Storm played without regular starters Sue Bird (strained right hip flexor) and Lauren Jackson (strained hamstring).
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