A Look at the Lynx: Seattle, June 23

#4 posting 6.23.2007
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MINNESOTA lynx 78, SEATTLE storm 76

Seimone Augustus hit the game winner with 5 seconds left as Minnesota took revenge on Seattle. a look at the key factors in the win.

STARTS: Minnesota clearly dominated this feature with a 25-15 advantage. In the first five possessions MN was clicking at 125.0 pp100 and .550 floor % while Seattle was stuck at 75.0 pp100 and .300 floor %. More importantly MN's defense did not permit Seattle to score on their first possession in any quarter. This set the tone.
FINISHS: This went to Seattle 24-16. Of course the biggest finish belonged to Minnesota and Augustus with the game winner with five seconds. I don't know if the tank was empty, but the strong starts lost steam as MN checked in with 80.0 pp100 and .400 floor % with the last five possessions in each quarter. Seattle hit 120 pp100 and .500 floor %.
RUNS & DROUGHTS: Strangely enough Seattle had neither (five possession straight of scoring or non scoring). Minnesota did have one run on the day, in the third quarter with an 11-7 advantage. The Lynx also had two droughts, one in the first quarter, one between the second and third quarter. The differential was 9-0 for Seattle. The Storm only managed to score 1 point in the Lynx's second drought.
However Seattle did have some dry speed. They had three stretches that were rough. They were 1/7 in the first quarter, 1/8 between the second and third quarter, and 1/8 again between the third and fourth quarter. Combined Minnesota had an advantage of 28-7 during these stretches. That third dry spell proved disastrous for Seattle. The game went from a tie score at 58 to a ten point advantage for Minnesota 71-61.
LAY UPS: Minnesota dominated this category 11-6 (or 22 points to 12). The Lynx only allowed two in the first half. The Lynx struck for five lay ups in the third quarter for their best performance. When Minnesota wins, they control this stat.
PERSONAL COMMENTS: Lindsey Harding, the point guard, is doing a bang up job on the boards. She had six defensive boards, the same as center Nicole Ohlde.

Ohlde and her turnovers: She led the team in a category you don't want to lead--turnovers. Ohlde had six, three of which were offensive fouls. On the 10th and 11th possession in the second quarter she had two straight offensive fouls. She already had one in the first quarter. Perhaps after that call she would have adjusted her moves to avoid another call. She needs to increase her awareness.

Eshaya Murphy had a strong performance with 12 points on seven possessions. The Lynx need someone to deliver off the pine. Now the trick for Murphy will be to continue to be consistently strong off the bench.

MINNESOTA
STARTERS
Seimone Augustus 23, 20, 115.0, .550
Nicole Ohlde 10, 12, 83.3, .417
Kristen Mann 7, 8, 87.5, .375
Lindsey Harding 16, 16, 100.0, .500
Svetlana Abrosimova 10, 8, 125.0, .500
BENCH
Tiffany Stansbury 0, 1, 0.0, .000
Eshaya Murphy 12, 7, 171.4, .714
Noelle Quinn 0, 0, 0.0, .000
Amber Jacobs 0, 0, 0.0, .000
Katherin Ress 0, 0, 0.0, .000
team 0, 2, 0.0, .000

SEATTLE
STARTERS
Iziane Castro-Marques 2, 6, 33.3, .167
Lauren Jackson 16, 18, 88.9, .444
Betty Lennox 18, 15, 120.0, .533
Sue Bird 25, 15, 166.7, .667
Janell Burse 3, 6, 50.0, .333
BENCH
Shyra Ely 6, 6, 100.0, .500
Wendy Palmer 1, 4, 25.0, .000
Katie Gearlds 5, 4, 125.0, .500
Ashley Robinson 0, 0, 0.0, .000
Tanisha Wright 0, 0, 0.0, .000

TRENCH PLAYER
Clutch shot...Seimone Augustus

BY THE NUMBERS
Minnesota 78, 74, 105.4, .486
Seattle 76, 74, 102.7, .459
made 3s: Seattle 8, Minnesota 6
made fts: Minnesota 16, Seattle 14
assists: Seattle 13, Minnesota 12
bench: Minnesota 12, Seattle 12

DEFENSIVE WRAPS
MINNESOTA
Lindsey Harding 7
Nicole Ohlde 6
Svetlana Abrosimova 6
Seimone Augustus 3
Tiffany Stansbury 3
Eshaya Murphy 3
Kristen Mann 2
Amber Jacobs 1
totals: 31

SEATTLE
Betty Lennox 8
Lauren Jackson 7
Iziane Castro-Marques 2
Sue Bird 2
Wendy Palmer 2
Katie Gearlds 2
Shyra Ely 1
Janell Burse 1
Ashley Robinson 1
totals: 26

Next up: later toady, check my Gabcast channel later in the day for updates.