SAN ANTONIO (AP) -- Taj McWilliams-Franklin had 17 points and

nine rebounds and Margo Dydek added 10 points against her former

team to help the Connecticut Sun win their sixth straight, 78-69

over the San Antonio Silver Stars on Saturday night.

The Sun improved to an Eastern Conference-best 6-1, while the

Silver Stars dropped to a Western Conference-worst 2-7.

"Taj McWilliams-Franklin is a beast," Silver Stars guard Marie

Ferdinand said.

Dydek, the league's tallest player at 7-foot-2, was dealt by San

Antonio on a draft day in April. The Sun gave up Katie Feenstra,

the No. 8 overall selection, and a first-round selection in next

year's draft in the trade.

When the teams played June 4, Dydek fell one short of her own

WNBA record with nine blocked shots. All of her points Saturday

came in the first half, and she finished the game with two blocks.

Connecticut took a 64-52 lead on Jennifer Derevjanik's 3-pointer

with 8:50 remaining in the game.

San Antonio cut the lead to four points on center Chantelle

Anderson's hook shot in the lane with 3:24 remaining. But the Sun

went on a 7-0 run over the next 2 minutes. Point guard Lindsay

Whalen scored on a drive in the lane to make it 74-65 and then

stole the ball to set up Katie Douglas' layup for a 76-65 lead with

1:17 remaining.

"Earlier it felt like we were a little tense and played a

little uptight, and that's no way to play," Whalen said. "It was

ugly, but we'll take it."

It was the Sun's closest win since the streak started with a

two-point victory over Washington. Connecticut had outscored its

previous five opponents by an average of 12 points.

The Sun, leading the league in 3-point shooting at 45.7 percent,

were 8-of-15 from beyond the arc, while San Antonio was 2-for-7.

Connecticut shot 40.3 percent overall from the field (25-for-62).Game notes
Silver Stars forward LaToya Thomas, who scored a game-high

23 points in San Antonio's victory over Washington on Tuesday, left

Saturday's game in the first half with a sprained right shoulder

and did not return after scoring two points. ... Connecticut won

games on consecutive nights after a 20-point victory at Houston on

Friday. The Sun split games on consecutive nights earlier in the

season.