Lynx Lose Another
July 27, 2010

In the type of a game one might expect from two WNBA teams that entered with a combined record of only 14 wins in 30 games, the Minnesota Lynx stumbled to a 71-58 loss to the Los Angeles Sparks at Target Center before a quiet crowd generously announced at 6,215 at Target Center in Minneapolis.

The loss was Minnesota’s fifth in a row in the WNBA and came in a game which neither team deserved to win. The Lynx shot a miserable 17 percent (seven for 41) from the field in the first half and fell behind 29-26. All this despite a promising first quarter that saw the team jumping to an 11-2 lead on a three-point basket by Lindsay Whalen. An embarrassing series of missed jump shots by Whalen’s teammates resulted in the previously inept Sparks team outscoring the Lynx 27-15 despite Los Angeles’ equally sloppy shooting combined with nine turnovers. At halftime, it appeared that the first team to score 50 points would win the game.

In the second half, a Whalen free throw tied the game at 29, but a three-point basket by Tina Thompson of the Sparks made it 32-29. It was 36-36 on a Nicky Anosike layup basket, but that was as close as it would get for Minnesota. Los Angles led 48-43 at the end of the third quarter.

Three minutes into the final period, the Sparks led 57-45 on a layup score by reserve forward Lindsay Wisdom-Hylton, and the Lynx began to fall apart on both the offensive and defensive ends of the court.

In honor of breast cancer awareness, the Lynx wore pink uniforms, hampering fan identification of individual player names and numbers. This might have been a good thing for some team members who might have been happy not to be recognized in view of their inconsistent play. Had the Lynx come back to win, they would have moved to two games up on Los Angeles for the fourth and final playoff spot in the WNBA Western Conference. Instead, Minnesota found itself in a virtual tie with the Sparks.

A bitter Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve spoke briefly to the media after the game and labeled the loss her most embarrassing game of the season.

““I don’t know where I can even start with any one thing,” Reeve said. “Probably the most frustrating thing is our inability to get to the ball in the hole. In a game with this magnitude, you know a team that is fighting for a playoff spot; we just haven’t quite grasped how to win those kinds of games.”

The only positive Reeve could point out was that the Lynx recorded 11 offensive rebounds in the first half and 13 through three quarters. That accomplishment was the only highlight of her team’s game.

Seimone Augustus and Rebekkah Brunson were silenced by the Sparks’ zone defense, and Minnesota missed shot after shot. Augustus tallied only six points which marks just the third time in her career that she has scored less than 10 points in a game.

Thompson led all scorers with 24 points including four 3-point baskets, all in the second half. Point guard Whalen had 12 points for the Lynx but had only three assists and committed three turnovers. Monica Wright also scored a dozen points for Minnesota.

With the loss, the Lynx have only seven wins against 15 losses.

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