Minnesota Lynx guard Seimone Augustus named Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the 2011 WNBA Finals
Minnesota Lynx guard/forward Seimone Augustus has been named as MVP of the 2011 WNBA finals. The award was given to her in recognition of her huge role in leading Minnesota Lynx to their first WNBA championship. The 27-year-old
star has had an exceptional run this year and she had been the driving force behind Lynx’s surge into the playoffs after seven years.
Augustus was over whelmed by the huge milestone. In a telephonic interview, she said;
"This is amazing, we finally got over that hump of all those losing seasons that we had. Everything just came together the way it did."
In the game-3 of the Finals, Augustus scored a team-high 16 points leading Minnesota to a 73-67 win over the Atlanta Dream on Friday, October 7, 2011. With the win, Lynx ended their remarkable journey with a sweep. Augustus also
grabbed five rebounds and dished out four assists in more than 31 minutes of action. It was her driving lay-up with 08:03 to go in the second quarter that put Lynx ahead by 25-23, their first lead of the game. From there on, Minnesota got into their groove.
The player finished on 7 for 12 shooting from the field and 2 for 2 from free throw line.
Augustus was not only prolific on the front court. One of the biggest factors in Lynx’s win was the defence Augustus played on the Dream’s leading scorer Angel McCoughtry. Augustus took over the McCoughtry duty in critical moments
and in game-3, she limiting Angel to only 9 for 25 shooting from the field in more than 29 minutes. Although McCoughtry headed all scorers in the previous two games of the series but she could not get past Augustus in game-3.
“Tonight we just kind of smothered her and forced her into bad shots,” Augustus said.
Augustus, who has spent her entire six-year career with the Lynx, closed the regular season with an average of 16.2 points, 3.5 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game. Her averaged increased to 24.7 points, 5.7 rebounds and 4.7 assists
in the WNBA finals. She scored 22 points in the first game and had a career high 36 points in the high scoring second game.
Lynx assistant coach Jim Petersen summed Augustus’s performances;
"Seimone was and is the engine that drives our team because of her ability to score the basketball, but I don't think anybody gives enough credit to her defensive side of the basketball, I couldn't be happier than I am for Seimone
Augustus."
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