Lindsay Whalen leads Minnesota Lynx to 79-76 win over Chicago Sky – WNBA Recap
Four Minnesota Lynx players scored in double figures with Lindsay Whalen lead in the way with 16 points as they squeaked past a resilient Chicago Sky outfit 79-76 here at the Allstate Arena, Rosemont tonight.
``Everybody did a good job taking care of the ball,'' Whalen said after the game. ``We fought through a lot of plays and Chicago has a great team. We were happy to get the win.''
Whalen shot 7 of 9 on the night and also had 6 assists and four rebounds for Minnesota, which got 14 points from Seimone Augustus. Augustus had an off night by her standard as she shot only 4 of 13 from the floor in nearly 33 minutes
of action. Maya Moore scored 13 while Candice Wiggins scored 12 points and 7 rebounds for Minnesota, who rose to a 17-5 record and won their 10th game in the last eleven attempts.
Sky were led by their mercurial centre Sylvia Fowles. Fowles erupted with 28 points on 11 for 13 shooting from the field and 6 of 6 from the stripe. She also dominated on the glass with 13 rebounds to record yet another double-double
while Tamera Young added 16 points for Chicago, who lost for the fourth time in the last five games. Not impressed by her team’s performance after the game, Sylvia said;
``We need to have to have a sense of urgency,'' Fowles, who scored 16 points in the first half said. ``We're not that good just yet to relax and take plays off and play as individuals. We have to play as a team. ... I think it
showed tonight, everybody was scoring and getting involved.''
Epiphanny Prince also scored 12 points for Sky will guard Courtney Vandersloot scored 9 points and dished out 8 of the total 15 assists by Sky on the night. Minnesota dominated Sky on the board 42-32, but were beaten 32-50 in the
points in the paint.
Chicago got off to a solid start and took a 17-7 lead midway through the opening quarter. However, they went into a shell after that and only managed one field goal attempt in the last 6:41 of the first quarter. This gave Minnesota
the window of opportunity and they responded with a 15-2 run to gain a 22-19 lead at the end of the first 10 minutes of play.
Minnesota carried their momentum in the second quarter and took their lead to 47-39 at halftime. Chicago bounced back early in the third quarter and blew off an 11-3 burst to tie the game at 50. However, they again gave away the
initiative and allowed Lynx a 11-4 stretch to enter the final quarter down by 61-54.
Chicago however made up for their late third quarter slump with a 9-3 spurts and made it a one point game with 6:54 to go (64-63). However, Candice Wiggins took over at that point and knocked down back-to-back 3’s to restore Minnesota's
seven-point lead. That lead stretched t0 78-70 with 1:25 to go, but initiated a 6-0 surge to draw within two with 38.9 seconds remaining.
However, that was the closest Sky got on the night. They missed their opportunities after that and lost by three.
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