MINNEAPOLIS -- The Minnesota Lynx were backed into a corner after a Game 1 loss on their home floor to the star-studded Los Angeles Sparks.No time to panic for this battle-tested group. The defending champions know just how to respond.Maya Moore had 21 points and 12 rebounds to help the Lynx even the WNBA Finals at one game apiece with a 79-60 victory in Game 2 on Tuesday night.This team bounces back well. We cant stay down for too long, Moore said. And Im a part of that. I wanted to bring that energy and thats what I took on myself personally today.Sylvia Fowles had 13 points and 15 boards and Minnesota held Los Angeles to 32.9 percent shooting to bounce back from a last-second loss in Game 1. Seimone Augustus scored 14 points and Minnesota dominated on the glass, 46-32, to pull away.We played like this game was more important to them than it was to us and thats unfortunate, Sparks coach Brian Agler said. You dont get these opportunities often, so you have to play like you might not get this game back.Nneka Ogwumike had 14 points and 12 rebounds for the Sparks, who head back home for the next two games in the best-of-five series. Candace Parker was quiet with six points on 3-for-12 shooting and the Sparks missed 17 of 20 3-pointers.The Lynx are trying to become the first back-to-back champions in the league since the Sparks repeated in 2002. A win in this series would also give Minnesota its fourth championship, which would tie the Lynx with the Houston Comets for most in league history.Last year the Lynx lost Game 1 at Target Center to the Indiana Fever, but rebounded to win that series in five games. But they know they face an even more capable challenger this year.We know what we needed to do, Augustus said. We watched the entire footage from Game 1 and saw where we made mistakes.Neither team led by more than five points during an air-tight Game 1 that Los Angeles won at the buzzer on a jumper from Alana Beard. The first 16 minutes of Game 2 were just as competitive, but Moore and the Lynx seized control in the final four minutes of the second quarter.After going scoreless in the first half of Game 1, Moore got rolling during a 17-3 blitz to close the period. She hit two 3s and a layup, then picked Parkers pocket and heaved a three-quarter length outlet to a streaking Lindsay Whalen for a three-point play and a 37-25 lead.Moore had 12 points in the first half and the Lynx took much better care of the ball after coughing it up 11 times in the first half of Game 1.The Sparks made things interesting with a 14-0 run in the third quarter that made the score 44-41, but Augustus and Moore took over in the fourth to turn back the charge.I think it had a lot to do with our effort, Ogwumike said. Not to say that we dont want it. But you get tired and muddled and youre not focusing on what youre doing, a lot of times confusion can seep in. And I think thats what happened.MVP DISAPPEARS: Ogwumike, the league MVP, scored just two points in the final period, and took just six shots in the entire game. Its a hard job. (Our post players) made it look easy, but its not, Moore said. Shes such an explosive player.REBOUNDING ADVANTAGE: The Lynx parlayed their edge on the glass into a 17-7 advantage in second-chance points. They shot a pedestrian 45 percent from the field, but had 13 offensive rebounds to create more opportunities. When the ball went up on the glass and a shot was taken on either end, they outworked us, Agler said.QUOTABLE: Now I know how Shaq felt in the NBA, -- Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve on the physical play on Fowles in the paint.RECORD RATING: The WNBA instituted a new playoff format this year that seeded teams based on record, not geography. It resulted in the two best teams during the regular season meeting in the finals despite both playing in the Western Conference. Game 1 drew an average audience of 597,000, the most-watched Game 1 ever on ABC, the network announced on Tuesday. It peaked with 693,000 viewers and was the most-watched Game 1 since 1998 broadcast across ABC, ESPN and ESPN2.UP NEXT: Game 3 is Friday in Los Angeles. Steelers Jerseys China . Then the Pacers gave Oladipo and his Orlando teammates the cold shoulder. Paul Georges buzzer-beating 3-pointer at the end of the third quarter spurred a 21-4 run, finally sending Indiana past the Magic 97-87 in a tougher-than-expected opening night matchup. Custom Steelers T-shirts . Just as Montreal was settling into the first full working week of a new year, the Impact announced the appointment of their new head coach. http://www.customsteelersjersey.com/ . Argentina winger Ezequiel Lavezzi and France midfielder Blaise Matuidi scored, with star striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic setting up both despite having a poor game by his high standards. Forward Eduardo gave Ajaccio the lead in the sixth minute after being set up by right winger Benjamin Andre, and the Corsican side looked comfortable in the first half, with the lively Johan Cavalli causing problems with his probing runs from midfield. Wholesale Custom Steelers Shirts . 1 position. The Mustangs (6-0), who beat Queens 50-31 last weekend, earned 17 first-place votes and 287 points in voting by the Football Reporters of Canada. Western was last ranked first in the country in October 2011. Custom Steelers Jerseys .com) - The Chicago Blackhawks aim for their third three-game winning streak of the season when they host the struggling Edmonton Oilers in Sundays battle at the United Center. COLLEGE PARK, Md. -- Another early season blowout by No. 4 Maryland provided coach Brenda Frese with another opportunity to prepare her squad for tougher games ahead.Brionna Jones and Shatori Walker-Kimbrough each scored 19 points before leaving early in a 97-63 rout of Towson on Tuesday night.Jones had 18 points in the first half and Walker-Kimbrough had 16. Together, they outscored the Tigers in helping Maryland (9-0) to a 56-29 lead at the break.The margin swelled to 34 points when Frese removed Jones and Walker-Kimbrough for good with 6:36 left in the third quarter, leaving the Terps bench players to finish up.Obviously were continuing to try to work through our depth and rest some of our starters with the minutes theyre bringing, Frese said.Jones collected eight rebounds during her 14 minutes of playing time, and Walker-Kimbrough saw enough action during her 18-minute stint to move into eighth place on the schools career scoring list with 1,647 points.As competitive as our starters are, I know they want to play more minutes, Frese said. But weve got to be able to extend our depth and bring everyone along.Thats OK with Walker-Kimbrough, who quite enjoyed the view from the bench.Its more about the bigger picture, the senior guard said. Weve got a lot of new players on the team and were trying to get the chemistry rolling. With the great team that we have, the versatility, its not a drop-off when we go out.Kristen Confroy scored 11 for Maryland, which entered with a nations best 38.0 scoring margin. This lopsided victory did little to affect that statistic.Sianni Martin led Towson (6-2) with 19 points and Raven Bankston added 14. The Tigers were outrebounded 46-28.We played the No. 4 team in the country. I just wanted to see if our kids were going to come out and compete, coach Niki Reid Geckeler said. They definitely did.After scoring the final two points of the first quarter to make it 22-10, the 6-foot-33 Jones scored Marylands first 12 points of the second quarter.dddddddddddd All the shots were layups, and two of them resulted in 3-point plays.Jones personal scoring spree ended when Walker-Kimbrough made a 3-point play for a 37-14 lead. The layup was set up by the unyielding hustle of freshman Destiny Slocum, who raced from midcourt to the baseline to whisk a bouncing ball headed out of bounds into the waiting hands of Walker-Kimbrough.They shared a hug after the ball dropped through the hoop. It was one of Slocums team-high six assists.BENCH PRESSTowson: The Tigers got only six points from their reserves, a basket apiece by three players.Maryland: Blair Watson and Brianna Fraser each scored 10 of the Terps 38 points off the bench.POLL IMPLICATIONSThis certainly shouldnt hurt Marylands stature as one of the top four teams in the country.Very good team. They rebound well, dont make too many mistakes, and the bench is strong, Reid Geckeler said. It will be interesting to see how far this team goes. They should be one of those Final Four teams.BIG PICTURETowson: Though the Tigers dont have the size or talent to stick with Maryland, the inside play of Brianna Bush (11 points, six rebounds) and the court savvy of Martin should enable Towson to be competitive in the Colonial Athletic Association.If you want to be the best, youve got to play the best, Reid Geckeler said. Well look back on this game and say it prepared us for CAA play.Maryland: The Terrapins put on a dazzling display in the first half as they continue to gain momentum for their Dec. 29 home game against No. 1 Connecticut.UP NEXTTowson faces Colgate on the road Thursday night.Maryland play at home Thursday night against St. Peters, which lost its first six games by an average of 29 points before beating Marist on Sunday. ' ' '