Lynx Face Elimination
August 28, 2009

The Washington Mystics, led by Crystal Langhorne who registered a double-double with 18 points and 10 rebounds, last night defeated the Minnesota Lynx 81-75.

With the loss, Minnesota fell back into a tie with San Antonio for the last and final WNBA Western Conference playoff spot. Thus, the Lynx ruined what had been a fine performance Friday night in the team’s 100-95 victory over the Sacramento Monarchs at Target Center.

The Lynx set WNBA-record marks for points in the first half (64) and 3-pointers made in a game (16), but, as usual, struggled through the fourth quarter, and allowed the Monarchs to close within three points with about 30 seconds to play. Somehow Minnesota survived Sacramento’s remarkable 10-2 run in the final three minutes and thus snapped for a six-game losing streak that seemed to have the team spiraling out of control.

The Lynx were running and gunning from the opening tip, shooting 70 percent to take a 14-point halftime lead. Any pretence either team had of playing defense quickly was eliminated. A three-point basket by Candace Wiggins gave the Lynx an 82-63 lead in the third quarter. Overconfidence apparently set in after that, and Minnesota allowed the Monarchs back into the game. Sacramento closed to within 12 points entering the final quarter.

The Monarchs saw that Minnesota was not guarding the middle and relentlessly attacked the basket, scoring 20 points in the paint in the fourth quarter. Meanwhile the Lynx were committing six turnovers. In the end, Minnesota needed a pair of free throws by Roneeka Hodges to seal the win.

The surprise star of the game was Rochester, Minn., native Kelly Miller who led the team with a season-high 18 points, hitting all four of her three-point attempts in the game. Prior to Friday night Miller had been a non-factor in the Lynx scoring attack. Hodges and Nicky Anosike each added 17 points. Coming off the bench Renee Montgomery and Tasha Humprey had 14 and 12 points, respectively. Wiggins also chipped in a dozen points.

The racehorse-style game pace saw Minnesota allowing Sacramento to shoot 54.5 percent from the field.

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