Lynx hold on to win first game after All-Star break
The Minnesota Lynx held on to win their first game after the WNBA All-Star Game on Tuesday night.
Maybe the sleep was still in the eyes of the Minnesota Lynx after the All-Star break? You know something had to be up on Tuesday, because the Lynx only won the game by a point.
The Lynx defense stepped up and didn’t let the New York Liberty get off a clean shot in the closing seconds and Minnesota claimed a 76-75 victory. The winning bucket was made in the last minute by Minnesota native Lindsay Whalen on a slick play where she pivoted 360 degrees and threw up a shot to give the Lynx a two point lead with about 40 seconds to play. The Liberty then got to the free throw line on a missed shot after the referees called a late foul and only converted one of the two free tosses at the hoop.
Minnesota then lost a loose ball on their end of the court to the Liberty. New York set up a nice play with dual screens to get the last second shot off, but their attempt was stifled by the Lynx.
All-Star Game MVP Maya Moore led the way for the Lynx in the points category with 27 points. Moore also had five rebounds and three steals, but she did have the worst plus/minus for the Lynx with a -8. Sylvia Fowles had a nice start to the second half of the season with a 18 point, nine rebound and four block game. Whalen was the only other Lynx player to score double-digits with a 12 point game.
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The bench again played a huge part for Minnesota. Renee Montgomery only had two points in the game, but did have the best plus/minus on the Lynx with a +8. Plenette Pierson was the high scorer off the bench with seven points.
One of the big surprises of the game is that All-Star Rebekkah Brunson was held scoreless. Brunson went 0-7 from the field, but did have eight rebounds, three assists and three steals.
This was the second matchup of the season between the Lynx and Liberty. The Lynx won the first meeting by a score of 90-71.
The Lynx stand with the best record in the WNBA with a record of 17-2. Minnesota next plays on Friday when they travel to Atlanta to take on the Dream.
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