Seattle Storm win WNBA draft lottery

The Seattle Storm have won the No. 1 pick in the WNBA draft lottery.

The Tulsa Shock was awarded the second pick Thursday, with Connecticut picking third and fourth. The Sun acquired the Liberty’s pick on draft night this past April in part of a package for Tina Charles.

It’s Seattle’s first No. 1 pick since the 2002 season when the Storm selected Sue Bird. The team also had the first pick in 2001, when they chose Lauren Jackson.

Moore named MVP

Minnesota’s Maya Moore has won the WNBA most valuable player award after leading the league in scoring.

Moore received the award from the WNBA before the Lynx beat San Antonio 88-84 in the opener of the Western Conference semifinals Thursday night.

It’s the first league MVP award for Moore in her four-year career. She averaged a career-best 23.9 points and set a WNBA record by scoring at least 30 points 12 times.

Playoff openers

Maya Moore scored 24 points to help the defending champion Minnesota Lynx beat the visiting San Antonio Stars 88-84 in the opener of the Western Conference playoffs.

Seimone Augustus scored six of her 16 points in the final 2:11 as Minnesota held off a second-half rally by the Stars.

• Tamika Catchings had 22 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Indiana Fever to a 78-73 home win over the Washington Mystics in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference playoffs.