WNBA: Sacramento 66, Connecticut 55

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SACRAMENTO, Sept. 18 (UPI) -- Yolanda Griffith had 19 points and 11 rebounds Sunday as the Sacramento Monarchs beat the Connecticut Sun, 66-55, for a 2-1 lead in the best-of-5 WNBA Finals.

Kara Lawson added 16 points for the Monarchs, who can capture their first-ever WNBA championship with a win Tuesday night.

Nykesha Sales had 17 points to lead Connecticut, while Taj McWilliams-Franklin had 16 points and 13 rebounds in the loss.

The Sun need to win Game 4 to avoid losing in the Finals for the second-straight year. They lost in three games to the Seattle Storm in 2004.

Connecticut guard Lindsay Whalen started and scored just two points in 23 minutes. Whalen, the third-leading scorer for the Sun in the regular season, missed Game 2 with a left knee injury.