Minnesota Lynx centre Taj McWilliams-Franklin sprains her knee in game-2 of the WNBA Finals
Minnesota Lynx’s centre Taj McWilliams-Franklin has a sprained her right knee and is officially listed as day to day, Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve told reporters on Wednesday, October 5, 2011.
McWilliams-Franklin’s injury occurred late in the third quarter of Wednesday's 101-95 victory against the Eastern Conference Champions Atlanta Dream, in game 2 of the WNBA Finals at the Target Center. McWilliams-Franklin, who suffered
from a stomach ailment in Game 1 of the best-of-five series, turned her knee as result of her unintentional collision with her teammate Monica Wright during a scrum for a loose ball.
The player exited the court late in the third period with a slight limp and did not return for rest of the period.
The veteran refused to talk about her condition or even acknowledge she was injured afterwards. The 40-year-old did not wear a brace on her knee or had it covered in ice in the locker room.
Lynx power forward Rebekkah Brunson was hopeful of her teammate’s injury, “She has aches and pains here and there" but will be ready to play in Game 3”
Prior to her injury, McWilliams-Franklin added 10 points, grabbed five rebounds, dished out two assists and stole the ball twice in more than 25 minutes of action. She was only 3 for 10 from the field but 4 for 4 from free throw
line. Trailing by 61-54 with 06:46 to go in the third period, the T. W. Josey High School’s product punctuated four consecutive points from the line and trimmed Lynx’s deficit to three, 61-58.
The player averaged 17.5 points during the conference semi-finals, nine times more than her regular season’s average, 5.5 assists and 4.5 rebounds per game. She is averaging 9.0 points and 7.5 rebounds a game in the league finals.
However for the Lynx, losing McWilliams-Franklin is not the worst thing at this point. They have backup for every position and are on the verge of landing their first title on Friday.
Tags: