Practice Report: Tuesday, June 19
Alex Conover
Social Media Associate
The Minnesota Lynx are busy trying to adjust to a feeling that they hadn't felt all year: finishing on the losing end of a WNBA game.After a WNBA-record 10 wins to start 2012, Minnesota fell to the Seattle Storm 65-62 on Sunday night. Despite handling Seattle twice already this year, coach Cheryl Reeve remarked that it was still a very dangerous opponent that caught the Lynx slipping.
"Anybody that knows this league knows that if you are undefeated, and you would circle a place to play where you might slip up, it would be Seattle," said Reeve after practice on Tuesday. "I thought they had their best crowd of the season, and I think we forgot how hard it would be to win in Seattle. It was not a surprise at all."
The driving force for Seattle was guard Sue Bird. The veteran totaled only four made shots from the field in her first two contests against Minnesota this year, but she showed her true scoring ability on Sunday, racking up 21 points on 8 for 15 shooting.
"(Sue Bird) played well the game before, down in Tulsa," said Reeve. "We knew it would be a matter of time before she got back into it. She had our full attention, and it was discussed early and often that Sue was the player that we really needed to be cautious of. We could not let her wheels get rolling, and we didn't see success in that area."
Like any good team, Reeve is confident that her squad is learning and improving throughout any outcome.
"We've been trying to address some things along the way," said Reeve. "While we're winning, we've got a number of areas where we've got shortcomings and we have to get better. After a loss, it's a great time to start hammering on those things. They've responded really well to it. While we've won some games, they know that we have to play at a higher level to get where we are trying to go."
With Sunday's loss now fading in Minnesota's memory, the team has its sights set on getting back on the winning track. The first step is an impending home game against New York on Thursday night.
For more news and notes on the team follow the Minnesota Lynx on Twitter.