Whalen had a big night as Connecticut evened the series. She hit 15-of-16 from the line and added 6 assists without a turnover.

"She was pretty good," coach Thibault said. "She set a franchise record for consecutive free throws, but the biggest stat for tonight was playing as many minutes as she did and not having any turnovers. In playoff games, that's really important. She made big plays. She found her teammates."

Nykesha Sales also rebounded from her abyssmal Game 1. She had 13 points, 7 boards, and a record 7 steals.

"We're really anxious to get back out there and play Wednesday," she said, "because we're a better team than we showed [in Game 1]. Today showed what type of team we are."

Coach Adams wasn't at all happy with the Mystics' performance. "We got a little rattled in the backcourt, and our players got tentative and wanted to pass," he said. "It was hot potato at the beginning of the game."

Game 3 is Wednesday. "It's gonna be a dogfight, I can tell you that," said Alana Beard.