The Young and the Restless
Wednesday, April 11, 2007

With rumors circling the interior of the Target Center of an impending sale by owner Glen Taylor of the Minnesota Lynx to interests who would move the team to Denver, the Lynx on May 29 took to the floor and played like individuals who had yet to be introduced to each other. The result: Minnesota’s fifth straight loss, this one to the Indiana Fever by the score of 89 to 75 before a crowd considerably less than the announced 6,238.

First-year head coach Don Zierden’s [post-game remarks were sprinkled with comments about his “young team” suffering through “growing pains” and making “rookie mistakes.” Zierden himself is a WNBA rookie, with previous head coaching service at DeLaSalle High School and the Continental Basketball Association.

The Lynx are in another of the team’s rebuilding seasons, a perpetual theme for them this century. Five first-year players dot the current roster including top draft pick Lindsey Harding, who is billed as a point guard. Apparently the point guard in Zierden’s system isn’t required to distribute the ball or initiate any set plays. “Right now, it looks really bad,” commented Svetlana Abrosimova, the Lynx senior player with six years of service.

Rookies on review include (in addition to Harding), Kathrin Ress, Noelle Quinn, Navonda Moore, and Eshaya Murphy. The situation is one that forces Zierden’s staff “to live with and keep working through.” Gone from the 2006 roster are Tamika Williams, Adrian Williams, Megan Duffy, Chandi Jones, Amanda Lassiter, Tynesha Lewis, and Shona Thorburn.

Tuesday’s game started with Indiana scoring on one fast break after another against a phantom Lynx defense. On offense, Minnesota’s Seimone Augustus and Harding did all the Lynx scoring (15 points) in the first quarter while Kirsten Mann, Quinn, Nicole Ohlde, and substitutes Abrosimova and Tiffany Stansberry assumed roles as spectators. Only when Indiana coach Brian Winters introduced his bench players into the contest did the Lynx become aggressors. In fact, Minnesota actually gained a three-point lead before kicking it away in the final seconds of the half on consecutive turnovers by Harding and Moore. What made the situation worse was the fact that Minnesota had a foul to give and failed to take advantage. Instead of leading at halftime, the Lynx trailed by 40-37.

Minnesota stormed out of the locker room after intermission but could only generate uninspired basketball play, frequently turning the ball over, and, even when opportunity presented itself, missing on free-throw attempts. The Fever took a 63-52 third-quarter lead and never looked back.

Hopefully for the fans of women’s basketball, this game (and the four others that preceded it) will not be the pattern for the rookie coach and his rookie players. Otherwise, attendance figures will continue to spiral downward, perhaps prompting owner Glen Taylor to prick up his ears when Denver investors come calling.