Alexander Shun

Web Editor Associate | Twitter 

Sometimes, in basketball, there are times when a team feels like they simply can not lose.

For the Minnesota Lynx, they just have to feel that way when they play the Seattle Storm.

With the 82-57 victory on Friday night, the Lynx have now won five straight, as well as 14 of the last 17 games against the Storm.

The Lynx struggled to find their shot in the first half, shooting just 14-of-36 (38.9 percent) including missing a few wide-open jumpers. Seattle didn’t shoot much better. The Storm shot 13-of-33 (39.4 percent) from the floor but did go 5-of-13 (38.5 percent) from beyond the arc which kept the game close at half-time.

In the second-half, the Lynx turned up the defensive intensity and shut the Storm down, allowing just 24 points in the second half, including only 10 points in the third quarter.

“Really good second half for us,” said Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve. “I think we kind of just wore them down and we had a bounce in our step on offense.”

That bounce was definitely noticed, especially in Lynx guard Seimone Augustus who shot just 1-of-4 (25 percent) in the first half, but shot 5-of-7 (71 percent) in the second. Augustus finished with 15 points and four assists.

“I was just being more aggressive,” said Augustus. “Coach got on me at half-time about getting to the basket and trying to get some easy ones, and for a scorer, all you gotta do is see that one go in and you kind of flip on the switch. That’s what happened in the second-half.”

Lynx forward Maya Moore led all scorers with 23 points and even snagged 11 rebounds, notching the 23rd double-double of her career.

“I felt pretty good. I feel like I could be even more efficient [on offense], but it felt good to be more efficient.”

Veteran guard Sue Bird led the Storm scoring 10 points to go with six assists, while center Crystal Langhorne added 10 points and eight rebounds in the loss.

LEADER OF THE PACK: MAYA MOORE

Moore showed throughout the whole game just how dominant she can be, especially as a scorer, getting baskets in a multitude of ways. Moore was able to score on drives to the paint, pull-up jumpers, back-door plays, from the free-throw line and from beyond the arc. Her 23 points and 11 rebounds were both game-highs and she scored, as previously mentioned, efficiently, shooting 10-of-14 (71 percent), including 2-of-4 (50 percent) from beyond the arc.

PLAY OF THE GAME

Midway through the third quarter, the Lynx were beginning to put together a run and started to push the lead. Moore drove to the lane and went up to catch a pass when, “…next thing I know, I’m on the ground,” said Moore. Moore was called for an offensive foul which didn’t sit well with Moore, Reeve or the 7500 Lynx fans in attendance. It did however fuel an already lit fire. The Lynx closed the quarter on 11-2 run and they never looked back, cruising their way to victory.

QUOTEABLE

“When we play average and cut average and go somewhere average, we’re easy to play against, and we just don’t want to be easy to play against and I thought the second half we had more of a mindset of attacking,” Lynx Head Coach Cheryl Reeve talking about what sparked the team both offensively and defensively in the second half.

NEXT UP

The Lynx now head to Chicago to take on the Sky next Friday night. The game will start at 6:00 P.M. CT