A Look at the Lynx: Phoenix, June 5

#6 posting 6.6.2007
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MINNESOTA lynx 90, PHOENIX mercury 85

Minnesota picked up their first win of the year and did it with balance and an Iron five. Not one bencher provided any point production.
The Gleanings:
1. Better Start: Minnesota came out stronger at the start of the 1st and 2nd quarter breaking a bad habit. Combined they were 15-7 at the start with their first five possessions. Also the 30 points in the first quarter was the most scored by the Lynx in any quarter. Actually the Lynx had 30 against Chicago in the third quarter on Sunday. For the first quarter alone MN was humming at a 157.9 pp100 and .684 floor %.
2. 3 Quarters Won. Minnesota won three of the four quarters.
3. Late game Frying Pan: Phoenix closed to 86-85 with 1:25 left. It would have been a perfect time to crumble for the Lynx. They closed with three straight scoring possessions and the Mercury closed with three non scoring possessions. Now hitting one of two free throws does count as a scoring possession, but I am sure Ohlde and Mann would like to be 100% and not leave points on the table. Even Seimone Augustus missed two, but got the ball back to keep the possession alive. Key defensive rebounds in the sequence belong to Lindsey Harding.
4. Good use of time outs: Minnesota used three time outs in the fourth quarter and scored after each one. It got the Lynx refocused and they executed. Phoenix after their timeouts in the 4th did not score.

NUMBERS EXPLAINED
player, points, possessions, pp100, floor %

MINNESOTA
STARTERS
Svetlana Abrosimova 10, 12, 83.3, .333
Nicole Ohlde 19, 14, 135.7, .714
Kristen Mann 19, 14, 135.7, .643
Lindsey Harding 20, 14, 142.9, .714
Seimone Augustus 22, 18, 122.2, .500
BENCH
Eshaya Murphy 0, 1, 0.0, .000
Tiffany Stansbury 0, 1, 0.0, .000
Noelle Quinn 0, 1, 0.0, .000
Katherin Ress 0, 1, 0.0, .000
team 0, 1, 0.0, .000

PHOENIX
STARTERS
Cappie Pondexter 18, 15, 120.0, .533
Penny Taylor 16, 14, 114.3, .571
Tangela Smith 24, 21, 114.3, .571
Diana Taurasi 11, 15, 73.3, .267
Kelly Miller 12, 7, 171.4. .714
BENCH
Kelly Schumacher 2, 1, 200.0, 1.000
Jennifer Derevjanik 2, 3, 66.7, .333
Belinda Snell 0, 1, 0.0, .000
Kelly Mazzante 0, 0,. 0.0, .000
Olympia Scott 0, 0. 0.0, .000

TRENCH PLAYER
Lindsey Harding, this was a tight call.

BY THE NUMBERS
Minnesota 90, 77, 116.9, .545
Phoenix 85, 77, 110.4, .506
made 3s: MN 6, PX 6
made fts: MN 14, PX 9
assists: PX 21, MN 12
bench: PX 4, MN 0
That has to be one of the all time lows with both combined benchs for scoring in a game.
Obviously the best offensive performance this season by the Lynx. Now that the olive is out of the bottle wins may come easier. They still need to play 40 minutes.

DEFENSIVE WRAPS
MINNESOTA
Nicole Ohlde 9
Lindsey Harding 6
Svetlana Abrosimova 5
Seimone Augustus 3
Kristen Mann 2
Eshaya Murphy 1
Noelle Quinn 1
Katherin Ress 1
totals: 28

PHOENIX
Cappy Pondexter 6
Tangela Smith 5
Penny Taylor 4
Kelly Miller 3
Diana Taurasi 2
Olympia Scott 2
Kelly Schumacher 1
totals: 24

Next up: the four out & abouts from the MN State AAU Tournament incluiding the last two quarterfinals, the semifinal between NC Heat and MN Stars Hested; and the 3rd place game.