Homecoming Spoiled
May 16, 2010

On Saturday night in Tulsa, former University of Minnesota three-time All-American Lindsay Whalen made her first appearance in a regular season WNBA game wearing the uniform of the Minnesota Lynx. All went smoothly, as point guard Whalen scored 10 points, dished out six assists, and grabbed five rebounds. The Lynx defeated Tulsa, formerly known as the Detroit Shock 80-74.

The following night things did not go as smoothly for Minnesota despite home court advantage and a crowd (announced at 9,985) boosted by the addition of Whalen supporters from her home town of Hutchinson and surrounding communities. Things came unraveled for the Lynx in the second quarter and got worse from there as Minnesota fell to the Washington Mystics 87-76.

Whalen scored 10 points in the first half, but she and her teammates lost the momentum that had powered the Lynx to a 33-18 lead and offered little resistance thereafter to the high-flying Mystics who led by as much as 18 points with under five minutes left in the game.

It was to have been Whalen’s night and, indeed, she appeared in numerous pre-recorded scoreboard features telling us about her favorite foods, rock stars, pet peeves, etc. In between, scoreboard highlights of her WNBA career reminded us that she owns career averages of 11.6 points, 4.9 assists (fifth all-time in WNBA history), and 4.2 rebounds per game in 197 career league regular-season games. Unfortunately, she was playing for the Connecticut Suns, a team that rarely visited Minneapolis. Incessant pestering from fans and the media finally drove Lynx management to make a deal to acquire the local hoop star, who is the Gophers all-time leading scorer with 2,285 points, which also is good for fifth place in Big Ten history. She led Minnesota to its first (and only) Final Four appearance. She holds school records in points, scoring average, games in double figures, free throws made, and free throw percentage. She is the only four-time MVP in the history of the University of Minnesota. The one thing that Whalen has been unable to do in her WNBA career is to single-handedly pick up a team and carry it on her shoulders. She is a playmaker, not a super star. In order to thrive, she must have a capable supporting cast. For one quarter Sunday night, it appeared that the Lynx had given her the tools she needed with the likes of Nicky Anosike, Charde Houston, Rashada McCants, and rookie Monica Wright. But midway through the second quarter, the air was let out of the balloon. Perhaps the fatigue from playing a road game the night before came into play. At any rate, the team that finished the game was a pale imitation of the one that started it. Easy shots were missed, foolish fouls committed, and any semblance of team play evaporated.

“We laid an egg,” said Minnesota’s first-year coach Cheryl Reed. “It did not go the way we hoped.” The defense that was so effective early on allowed Washington’s 6-0 forward Monique Currie to score at will (she finished with 27 points) and spent the rest of the time fouling her teammates. The Lynx committed 30 fouls, six by Wright in less than 25 minutes of playing time. The Mystics were playing without their top scorer, Alana Beard, who will not play for the team this year due to ankle surgery.

Houston led Minnesota scorers with 19 points. It should be pointed out that three key Lynx players did not suit up for the game. Seimone Augustus is out after undergoing fibroid surgery, Rebekkah Brunson is still playing in Europe, and Candace Wiggins is recovering from surgery to her right knee. As a result, the Lynx have little bench strength, something crucial in a year when the WNBA has reduced roster size to 11 players per team.

After the game, coach Reeve said that Sunday’s outcome was “not what we were looking to do in our home opener. This game just didn’t go the way that we had hoped. We were a team today that got a little deflated. Shots didn’t fall and we didn’t move the ball very well. We couldn’t put the ball in the hole and we just lost our overall focus. We just didn’t dig in and guard in those rough stretches.”

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