Lynx center Fowles selected MVP of WNBA; Parker third

Minnesota Lynx center Sylvia Fowles was voted the WNBA’S most valuable player.

Fowles received 35 of 40 first-place votes from a media panel, with New York’s Tina Charles placing second and Los Angeles’ Candace Parker third.

Fowles, 31, averaged 18.9 points, 10.4 rebounds and 2.0 blocks to lead the Lynx to a 27-7 record and the top playoff seed. She shot 65.5 percent from the field, leading the WNBA in shooting percentage for the fifth time.

In Thursday’s WNBA conference semifinals, Fowles scored 25 points to lead the host Lynx past Washington 93-83 for a 2-0 lead in the best-of-5 series, and Parker had 24 points and 13 rebounds to help host Los Angeles down Phoenix 86-72 to take a 2-0 series lead.

■ Jazz: Guard Nazareth Mitrou-long, 24, an undrafted free agent who averaged 15.1 points and 4.6 rebounds at Iowa State, signed with Utah. He was on Sacramento’s roster at the 2017 NBA Summer League in Las Vegas.