Former UConn stars Tiffany Hayes and Maya Moore played starring roles as the Atlanta Dream and Minnesota Lynx opened the WNBA conference finals with victories.

Hayes scored 15 of her game-high 23 points after Tamika Catchings gave Indiana a two-point lead in the third quarter of the Eastern Conference finals. Not a bad performance for a player with a reputation of not playing her best in the postseason or on the big stage when she was coming out of UConn, don't you think?

Hayes was 8 of 14 from the field, including 3 of 6 from 3-point range to go with three rebounds, three assists and one steal in Atlanta's 84-79 victory over the defending champion Indiana Fever.

Moore had 20 points (on 8 of 14 shooting), five rebounds, three assists, three steals and a blocked shot as Minnesota rolled to an 85-62 win over Phoenix in the opening game of the Western Conference finals.

Diana Taurasi led Phoenix with 15 points while Charde Houston added nine points.

The conference finals resume on Sunday with Indiana and Phoenix both needing to win at home to extend the series to a decisive third game.