Lynx: Historic game. Painful loss.
By Stephen Litel
July 24th, 2010
On Saturday night at the Target Center in Minneapolis, the Minnesota Lynx and Phoenix Mercury played an absolutely amazing basketball game. In a double-overtime thriller, the teams swapped the lead, hit amazing shots and gave a wonderful night of entertainment to the fans in attendance and on television. Adding to the intrigue was that the teams are fighting for their playoff positioning and, essentially, their playoff berths since neither team has clinched a spot to date.
By the time the Mercury eventually came away with the win in double overtime, there were milestones surpassed and records broken. Prior to the game, the record for points in a game by a single team was 123, of course, set by the Mercury only days ago. In this game, both teams passed the 123-point mark and therefore had the two highest scoring games in WNBA history by a team. Obviously, the two teams combined for the most points by two teams in a single game in WNBA history as well.
There were also team records broken on the night. Lindsay Whalen hit the 2,500 point milestone for her career and she received a fine round of applause from the hometown crowd. Through three quarters, Seimone Augustus had 29-points and the media was on watch to see if she would surpass her own career-high for points in a game at 39. Although she eventually ended the game with 36 and missed the personal mark, Augustus went 5-9 from the three-point line, which tied her career high. It also leaves her only four three-point shots away from her the most three-pointers in a season...and she has only played 12 games this year.
All-Star Rebekkah Brunson also set the Lynx franchise record with 17 rebounds in the game. Adding her 19 points to the mix, Brunson also set the team record with her tenth double-double of the season.
Minnesota had six players who scored in double-figures, setting yet another team record. As mentioned above, Augustus ended with 36 points and Brunson had 19. Joining them in double-digits were Nicky Anosike with 17, Monica Wright with 14, Lindsay Whalen with 13 and Charde Houston with 21 off the bench.
The Lynx also set the team record for most field goals in a game with 42 and the 34-points by Minnesota in the first quarter tied the team's record.
Guess what? None of those records matter for the Lynx. They are nice, little accomplishments, but mean absolutely nothing to the team. They blew an opportunity to beat a team ahead of them in the standings and they know they only have themselves to blame. Although no lead is safe when playing against the Phoenix Mercury, the Lynx had a comfortable lead throughout the game and should have won in regulation. Yes, the team has individual players with playoff and championship experience, but as a team, the Lynx are still inexperienced. For the third straight game, they lost a game they needed to win, adding insult to injury, all three losses were at home.
It would be easier to swallow this loss if the Lynx were able to win the last two games that should have been notches in the win column. Lately, Minnesota has played wonderful defense, while their offense has under-performed and their free throw shooting lets them down. In this historic game, their offense was wonderful throughout the game, their defense was non-existent...and their free throws let them down again. What other stat can you point to when you lose by three points and miss thirteen free throws?
The team is attempting to address their free throw woes in practice. This past week, each member had to make 100 free throws--25 at each basket in the practice facility--before the could leave. They are putting the work in, but when it comes to a game, there seems to be a mental block and it's quite disappointing as they continue to tease their fans. Without question, they are playing better basketball for the past few weeks, but the winning percentage has them hanging onto the final playoff spot by the thinnest of threads.
If Minnesota had won these last three very winnable games, they would currently sit at 10-11 and would hold the second seed in the playoffs. The reality of the situation sets in and the team lost three games in a row that probably should have been wins, giving away quite a lot. Now, they find themselves only a game away from the Los Angeles Sparks and not securing a playoff berth. If this team were to miss the playoffs completely even with the injuries they have had to overcome, they would be the biggest disappointment in the WNBA for the summer of 2010.
Apparently, they have decided to do it the hard way and attempt to secure their playoff spot without fully utilizing their current homestand to their advantage. All is not lost yet, but as they apparently like to do, the Lynx are living on the edge.
