Wednesday, September 28

Mercury Lynx.

Rather, Mercury @ Lynx in their new (temporary) home at St. Paul's Xcel Energy Center because the Target Center will be undergoing remodeling for the next year.

Lynx took it, 113 - 95:

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- Coach Cheryl Reeve and the Minnesota Lynx were not leaving any doubt: nearly two weeks between games was beneficial for the defending WNBA champions.

Maya Moore scored 31 points, including 15 in the second quarter, as Minnesota opened its title defense with a 113-95 win over the Phoenix Mercury in the first game of the WNBA semifinals Wednesday night.

Lindsay Whalen added 19 points and seven assists as Minnesota broke the WNBA record for points in a regulation playoff game. Center Sylvia Fowles scored 16 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for the Lynx, who hadn't played since Sept. 17 as the top seed in the WNBA's new playoff format.
...
Diana Taurasi scored 25 points for the Mercury, who have lost each of the four games between the two teams this year. Brittney Griner added 16 points for Phoenix but was held to just two rebounds.

Minnesota shot 63.9 percent from the field and outrebounded the bigger Mercury 38-20.

"Pretty hard to get defensive rebounds when they're scoring 64 percent," Phoenix coach Sandy Brondello said. "Got to play better defense, make more shots contested and be in a position to rebound. We have to play a bit more physical. Fowles, she's a beast on the boards."