Lynx Smash Atlanta Dream
July 9, 2013
The Minnesota Lynx, minus their number two star, Seimone Augustus, sailed past the previously formidable Atlanta Dream, 94-72, a Target Center on July 9.
Augustus rolled her ankle in the first half of the Lynx victory over Phoenix the previous Sunday. She appeared on the court Tuesday wearing sweats and a clunky walking boot. No word on how long she will be withheld from play. However, against Atlanta, she was hardly missed as the Lynx rolled to their eighth win in 11 games.
Augustus’ replacement, Monica Wright, scored 22 points on seven-for-10 shooting. Last season, the Lynx were 6-1 in starts by Wright.
Minnesota extended its home regular season winning streak to a franchise record 15 games. The win improved to 9-3 this season, one game ahead of Los Angeles in the WNBA Western Conference. (The Lynx have lost two games at Los Angeles in 2013 by the scores of 87-59 and 96-66.)
Maya Moore, who scored 19 of a game-high 23 points in the second half against Phoenix (a 91-59 triumph), started the night with six-for-six shooting, including three 3-pointers. Entering the game averaging 20.7 points on 51 percent shooting, Moore finished with 19 points on seven-for-eight shooting.
Crowd favorite Lindsay Whalen hit for 20 points on eight-for-16 shooting. The game marked Whalen’s third 20-point game in 2013. Entering the game, she was averaging 18 points and six assists.
Rebekka Brunson registered her fifth double-double with 10 points and a dozen rebounds.
In the first quarter, Atlanta remained competitive on the strength of a 13-5 rebounding edge before Brunson and the hulking Janel McCarville took control of the boards. The Lynx finished with a 38-36 rebounding advantage.
Minnesota held 27-22, 56-39, and 74-54 quarter leads. Atlanta entered the game with 10 wins in 11 games, losing only to New York, 76-67.