Todd Barin
Web Editorial Associate
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The Lynx put on a passing clinic for the second straight game yesterday, defeating the heavily talented Chicago Sky 97-80.
Over the first two games of the season, the defending WNBA Champions have shown fans and teams around the world how sharing the basketball translates to success.
“We’ve kinda gotten back to the way we’ve played in past years which is sharing the ball,” Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve said after Wednesday’s victory. “We’ve got good players all over the place and if we just make the easy play that leads to that big number in assists.”
Minnesota tallied 27 assists in their victory over Chicago, surpassing their season-high last year of 25.
“I’m really pleased with our effort collectively as a team, we had 27 assists on our field goals, so it was a really good game moving the ball, playing with a lot of energy and connecting with everybody,” Maya Moore said. “There were several things that we wanted to focus on (against the Sky), but more than anything, just pushing the pace and sharing the ball offensively.”
Minnesota has gotten off to quite the start in their campaign to defend last year’s Championship as they are averaging 25.5 assists per game, which leads the league by 5.5 dishes per game.
In the three seasons that the Lynx won a WNBA Championship, they tallied, on average, 18.9 assists per game, ranking top three in the league in each of those years.
Beating two 2015 playoff teams by an average of 18 points shows teams that the Lynx are the team to beat, and despite the lack of practice time together, that they are firing on all cylinders.
“They have four Olympians but they’re also really deep,” Chicago guard/forward Elena Delle Donne said. “If you focus on one person then the next person’s going off so it takes a full-team effort to stop them. I’m glad we played them early because it’s also a great measuring stick to see where we are. They’ve won championships. They have vets that know how to do it, so it’s always nice to play against them. We get excited every time.”
Minnesota will go for their third straight win to begin the season on Sunday night when they travel to Seattle and take on the Storm at 6:00 p.m.