Minnesota Lynx crush Phoenix Mercury 105-83 in their season opener – WNBA Recap
On Sunday night at the Target Center in Minneapolis, the reigning WNBA Champions got off and running by winning their season opener against Phoenix Mercury 105-83.
The Lynx were led by the finals MVP of last year, Seimone Augustus, who finished the game with 19 points and 5 rebounds before going out with an injured rib as she chased after a loose ball.
Maya Moore and Lindsay Whalen contributed 13 points each while Rebekkah Brunson followed them up by chipping in 12 points and 9 rebounds of her own on the night. The bench scoring for the Lynx was also very strong as they combined
for 40 points.
Monica Wright was the leading scorer off the bench with 15 points on a 6 of 9 shooting night while Candice Wiggins chipped in 11 points. The whole Minnesota unit combined to shoot the ball 57.1% from the field and was 4 of 8 from
beyond the arc.
On the other hand, it was an off night for the Phoenix team who were playing without their best asset in Diana Taurasi. Charde Houston tried her best to keep them in the game with 24 points to go along with 3 rebounds; however
the Lynx team was too good on the night.
DeWanna Bonner also played well in the game to put up 22 points in the game while Candice Dupree chipped in with 13 points. Samantha Prahalis played well for 12 points and 6 assists but the Mercury second unit let them down majorly
as the entire bench scored just 8 points in the game.
Minnesota also held the upper hand in the rebounding department 40-28 with 12 of them coming on the offensive glass, resulting in more second chance points for them. They were also very good with their distribution of the ball
as they dished out 22 assists in the game.
In the early goings of the first quarter, both sides were very evenly matched up which kept the scores almost level. The biggest advantage any side was able to achieve in the period was 5 points for Phoenix; however these two teams
ended the quarter level pegging at 20 each.
The second quarter again these two teams battle it out on both ends of the floor and by the 6:42 mark, the difference was only 2 points. From that point on Minnesota went on a 10-3 burst make it 41-32 and went onto close the proceedings
of the first half, holding their advantage in double figures, 56-43.
With 5:28 to go in the third and Minnesota still holding onto a double figure lead, 67-56, they went on burst of 10 unanswered points, which allowed them hold a 14 point lead after three.
The offensive dominance continued for Phoenix in the fourth quarter. They continued to make shot after shot while holding Mercury to only 16 points in the period. In the end, the Lynx were able to record a comfortable season opening
win of 22 points.
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