Minnesota Lynx defeat Phoenix Mercury; Set a WNBA record for best season opening streak
The Minnesota Lynx made history on Friday night by defeating the Phoenix Mercury 78-60 at the U.S Airways Center.
The victory improved their record to 10-0, as the Lynx remained undefeated this season and set a record for the longest win streak to start the WNBA season. Lindsay Whalen scored 29 points in the game as the Lynx never gave Phoenix
a chance.
DeWanna Bonner was the team high scorer for Phoenix with 18 points.
Leading by 21-16 at the close of the first period, Minnesota scored 6 straight points to open the 2nd period and went on a 9-1 run to extend their lead to 30-17. Phoenix was 0 of 5 to start the 2nd period
and had 3 turnovers in that period as well. They managed to score 1 point off a free throw in the first 4 minutes of the period.
Mercury could not find a way of stopping Whalen as the Lynx raced away with a huge lead, ahead by 43-27 at halftime.
Minnesota continued their offensive onslaught in the third period, keeping a double digit lead throughout and finishing the period with a 62-45 edge. Phoenix had no answer for their offensive play and could not stop Whalen, who
was scoring at will.
After the big 2nd quarter in which Minnesota outscored Phoenix 22-11, Phoenix never had a chance to make a comeback in the game. Minnesota led by double digits throughout the final period and went on to win 78-60.
Whalen was amazing on the night, scoring 29 points and grabbing 3 rebounds. She was 11 of 14 from the field and 6 of 7 from the foul line, a near perfect shooting performance. Seimone Augustus finished with 14 points, 4 rebounds
and 3 assists, going 6 of 13 from the field. Maya Moore added 9 points and 7 rebounds on a relatively slow night for her.
Bonner led Phoenix in scoring with 18 points and 4 rebounds, going 5 of 16 from the field and 8 of 10 from the foul line. Candice Dupree was the second higher scorer for Phoenix, finishing with 11 points and 10 rebounds. No other
Mercury player broke into double digits on a mediocre offensive night by Phoenix where they were hold to just 60 points.
Minnesota shot 38.9% from the field and 31.6% from the distance. Phoenix was poor from the floor, going 28.8% from the field and a dismal 2 of 19 from the distance. Minnesota also had a 15-8 advantage in assists and 9-6 advantage
in blocks, while managing 4 fewer turnovers than Phoenix at 12. They beat Phoenix in transition, scoring 21 points on fast break compared to only 8 for Phoenix.
Minnesota now looks forward to increasing their record breaking win streak. Phoenix drop to 2-6 with the loss.
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