Minnesota Lynx rout Phoenix Mercury 90-73; Win their seventh straight game - WNBA Recap
On Tuesday night, Minnesota Lynx won their seventh consecutive game with a 90-73 victory over Phoenix Mercury at Target Center. Lynx are comfortably reigning at the top the WNBA rankings so far in this season. Mercury, on the other
hand, are now in a tie with Seattle Storm for third position in the Western Conference.
Maya Moore added a game-high 22 points, four steals, three rebounds and two assists. She shot 7 for 11 from the field, including 5 for 7 from three-point range. Moore, who was selected the league's top rookie for July, praised
the great support of her teammates and said, “My teammates were setting great screens for me, we were moving the ball, and I was just feeling it.” “The energy was good and the ball was going in.”
Seimone Augustus scored 21 points and grabbed four rebounds while Taj McWilliams-Franklin recorded a double-double with a game best 10 rebounds and 11 points for Minnesota. Lindsay Whalen also scored 11 points, dished out five
assists and pulled down three rebounds in the victory.
Phoenix's Diana Taurasi led her team with 20 points, but it was not enough for Mercury on the night. Taurasi hit 6 for 13 from the floor and 8 for 9 from the line. Forwards Candice Dupree and Penny Taylor contributed 11 points
and four rebounds each in the loss. Marie Ferdinand-Harris also came off the bench to score 11 points, including nine of them in the first 20 minutes. Temeka Johnson ended with 10 points, five rebounds, four assists and three steals for Phoenix.
Lynx shot 47.0 percent from the field, including 47.1 percent from down town, and 62.5 percent from free throw line. Phoenix shot just 39.7 percent from the floor, including 40.0 percent from three-point range, and 90.5 percent
from the field. Minnesota committed 10 turnovers as compared to 15 by Mercury.
In the first quarter, Phoenix held a 13-12 lead, before Lynx pulled away with an 8-2 run in the last 4:10 of the frame to take a 20-15 advantage into the second.
Mercury trimmed their deficit to three, 41-38, at halftime on the back of Ferdinand-Harris’ seven points, but Minnesota stretched their lead back to five points, 67-62, at the end of the third period.
The fourth quarter was the stretch where Lynx broke the shackles and pushed their lead to 16 points, 78-62, early. They never looked back and maintained their double-digit lead until the final buzzer sounded.
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