Lynx Run Out of Gas
July 2, 2009

Jennifer Gillom didn’t expect to be the head coach of the Minnesota Lynx of the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) this year.

A graduate of the University of Mississippi, Gillom was one of the first players signed by the WNBA and enjoyed seven successful seasons as a player. She led the Phoenix Mercury to three playoff berths, including 1998 where her team advanced to the WNBA finals. She then coached girls basketball at a private school in Phoenix.

Last season, Gillom was named as an assistant coach with the Lynx, responsible for scouting, talent evaluation, and player development. When head coach Don Zierden unexpectedly jumped ship just prior to the start of the 2009 season, Gillom was named as his successor.

In the team’s last outing, Minnesota suffered an embarrassing home defeat at the hands of the hapless Sacramento Monarchs. Sacramento entered the game on the heels of a six-game losing streak (the Monarchs were able to score only 47 points in losing to Los Angeles) and only one victory all season. Yet, Sacramento managed to rally from behind to defeat the Lynx by the score of 74-68.

The defeat can be squarely placed at the door of neophyte coach Jennifer Gillom, who substituted poorly, thus sapping the energy of her starters. She also, when the game was on the line, failed to call timeouts at crucial stages. When the timeouts were called, her players either misunderstood or ignored the plays Gillom designed.

CandiceWiggins’ shot was rejected by Rebekkah Brunson with 26.9 seconds to play and a wild desperation three-point shot from Nicky Anosike to tie the game sealed the deal.

Minnesota started the game by taking an 11-2 lead after a successful 19-foot jump shot by Kelly Miller. The Monarchs were ripe for the picking but bounced back and trailed by only 20-18 at the end of the first quarter. Gillom made only one substitution (Renee Montgomery with a minute left in the period), and her starters were gassed. The first half saw the Monarchs up by a point, but the Lynx came back to lead by five with five minutes left in the contest.

Sacramento erased that five-point lead with four minutes to play and snapped the Lynx’s three-game winning streak.

Minnesota struggled on the glass as Sacramento scored 22 second-chance points off of 15 offensive rebounds. The Lynx only managed four and had one offensive rebound in the second half. The rebounding discrepancy helped Sacramento make up for a 36 percent shooting performance.

When the Monarchs were not converting on put backs, they were getting stops on defense. The Lynx shot just 41 percent from the floor and hit only five of their 25 three-point attempts. Minnesota took 14 fewer shots than Sacramento. The fatigued Lynx did not respond well to the Monarchs’ pressure defense, committing 16 turnovers that led to 21 Sacramento points. Minnesota was limited to 11 fast break points. The Lynx did not score more than 20 points in any quarter of the game.

Game totals showed that, of the reserves, only Montgomery had more than 15 minutes of playing time. (Christi Thomas never entered the game.) Meanwhile starters Roneeka Hodges, Anosike, and Wiggins spent nearly the entire game running up and down the Target Center court. Coach Gillom simply needs to learn how to better divide out each individual team member’s playing time.