Seimone Augustus leads as Minnesota Lynx rout Washington Mystics 81-62 – WNBA Recap
Seimone Augustus chalked up a game high 18 points on an 8 for 12 shooting from the field as Minnesota Lynx romped to a 81-62 victory over the Washington Mystics on Thursday night at Verizon Center. The victory snapped Mystics’
three-game winning streak against Lynx.
It was third consecutive defeat for the slumping Mystics. Minnesota, on the other hand, bounced back from their season-worse 29-point loss to Connecticut Sun on Tuesday night.
Four Lynx players reached double figures on the night. Minnesota’s forward Maya Moore had 14 points, four steals and four rebounds while Rebekkah Brunson ended with 13 points, shooting 6 for 9 from the floor, and six rebounds.
Lindsay Whalen chipped in with 11 points, a game best seven assists and three rebounds for Lynx, who are heading the league with a 19-6 record.
Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve praised the combined team effort of her players and said, “I thought Seimone was impressive with her shot-making ability,” “As a group we are pretty balanced and we got each other the ball in pretty good
position to score.”
Matee Ajavon led Washington with 15 points and two steals. Marissa Coleman added 12 points, five rebounds and three steals while Crystal Langhorne finished with 11 points and five rebounds in the loss. Both players shot 5 for 8
from the floor.
Minnesota shot 57.1 percent (36 for 63) from the field and 63.6 percent (7 for 11) from free throw line and limited the Mystics to just 42.6 percent (26 for 61) from the floor and 75.0 percent (6 for 8) from the line. The Lynx
outscored Washington both in points in the paint 44-10 and fast break points 17-8. The Mystics committed 16 turnovers while the visiting team committed just 13.
Washington carried an 18-14 lead with 01:51 to go in the first quarter. However, Minnesota responded with three consecutive points to show only one down, 18-17, at the end of the first period. Minnesota outplayed Mystics 22-11
in the second quarter and converted their deficit into a ten-point lead, 39-29, at halftime.
Lynx continued to play with intensity in the third quarter and maintained a 60-49 lead, heading into the fourth. Minnesota carried a double-digit lead throughout fourth quarter to get back on track after a disappointing defeat
in the previous game.
Ajavon said of another close defeat, “We have been pretty close in every single game, but you have these days where nothing is really clicking,'' ``Defence is always supposed to be there but they were just scoring at will.”
Minnesota will play its next game against the Los Angeles Sparks on Saturday while Washington will take on Chicago Sky.
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