Seattle Storm outplayed the Minnesota Lynx
The Seattle Storm cruised to their second straight victory of the season when they outplayed the Minnesota Lynx, 79-76, in a thrilling match, Thursday, at the Key Arena in Seattle.
Swin Cash led the Storm's fourth Quarter surge which was highlighted by a crucial basket late in the game that gave them a 77-74 advantage. Cash finished the game with an impressive 24 points after scoring 17 points in their win against the sparks, Monday.
“I’m always confident we’re going to win,” Cash said. “I feel our core group, when we’re out there on the floor, we have the best opportunity to come back and take a lead or execute down the stretch.”
Cash shot 7 of 11 from the field and converted 9 of her 12 free throws.
“Swin always looks for opportunities to get down there and post up smaller guards,” Seattle point guard Sue Bird said. “We knew they were switching and putting a smaller guard on Swin and we were really able to take advantage of that.”
Lauren Jackson, who missed almost the entire season last year a stress fracture on his back, contributed 18 points and collected 11 rebounds for the Storm, which have now defeated the Lynx for seventh straight time at the Key Arena. Jackson's putback with 8.1 seconds left in the game gave the Storm a 79-76 lead and the Lynx wasn't able to answer.
The Australian Center made an impressive debut in their win against the Los Angeles Sparks when she tallied 23 points, 17 of it coming in the first quarter, Camille Little also finished the game with 18 points to go with her six boards including a 3-point shot conversion with 2:18 left in the game giving the Storm a 73-70 lead.
Lindsay Whalen, who played her third game in a Lynx uniform, scored 17 points while Nicky Anosike scored 13 points and grabbed 11 boards for the Lynx, which suffered their second straight defeat after winning their season opener.
“Seattle made some huge shots when they needed to," Whalen said. "We made some big plays down the stretch as well."
On the other hand, Monica Wright posted 19 points for the Lynx, who played without injured stars Candice Wiggins (Right Knee Injury) and Seimone Augustus. Both players are expected to make a return in June.
"It was a hard-fought game," Minnesota coach Cheryl Reeve said. "We put ourselves in position to win the game. Obviously, they made some clutch baskets. Jackson's offensive rebound with 8 seconds to go was a backbreaker."
The storm will try to continue their winning run when they face the Phoenix Mercury on Sunday while the Lynx will try to snap their losing skid in their game against the Tulsa Shock on Monday.
Meanwhile, The Atlanta Dream announced that they have released Chamique Holdsclaw. The Six-time All-Star didn’t have not yet reported to the team after asking to be traded before the star of training camp. Atlanta Dream head coach and General Manager Marynell Meadors, who was surprised by Holdsclaw’s request, said that he tried to work out a deal but he failed to find a trading partner.
“We appreciate all that Chamique has done to help our young franchise and we wish her well,” said Meadors. “We are excited about the team we have in place and look forward to building on our strong start to the season.”
Holdsclaw, who came out of retirement when he signed with the Dream in April 2009, averaged 13.9 points and 4.4 rebounds per game last season before undergoing a season-ending arthroscopic knee surgery?
The Dream will sign 6-foot-5 Belarusian center Yelena Leuchanka to take the place of Holdsclaw.
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