Sports in brief

AUTO RACINGStewart wins second straight

Tony Stewart made it 2-for-2 in the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship, pulling ahead when Clint Bowyer ran out of gas with two laps left to win at New Hampshire Motor Speedway Sunday. Stewart is on a roll when the season matters most, following last week's Chase opening victory at Chicagoland Speedway with another strong performance at New Hampshire. Both of his victories this season have come in the Chase and have propelled him to the top of the points standings.

WNBAMinnesota gains its first final

Taj McWilliams-Franklin had 21 points, six rebounds and seven assists to lead the Minnesota Lynx past the host Phoenix Mercury, 103-86, to advance to the WNBA finals for the first time. Maya Moore had 21 points, seven rebounds and five assists for Minnesota, which needed three games to eliminate San Antonio in the first round before sweeping the Mercury in the Western Conference finals.

Atlanta evens series

Iziane Castro Marques stepped in for fellow Brazilian Erika de Souza and delivered a scoring outburst that extended host Atlanta's season. Castro Marques replaced de Souza in the starting lineup and scored a season-high 30 points as the Dream beat the Indiana Fever, 94-77, in Game 2 to even the Eastern Conference finals. Indiana's Tamika Catchings, the WNBA MVP, hurt her right foot late in the game, leaving her status uncertain for Tuesday night's deciding Game 3 in Indianapolis.

COLLEGE FOOTBALLLSU overtakes Oklahoma

Another decisive victory away from home pushed LSU to No. 1 in The Associated Press college football poll for the first time since 2007. The Tigers bumped Oklahoma from the top spot after winning, 47-21, at West Virginia the night before. The Sooners had been No. 1 since the preseason. They stayed unbeaten with a 38-28 victory at home against Missouri. -- AP