Lynx Outshine Stars For Dominant Victory, 81-57

Todd Barin

Web Editorial Associate

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The Lynx put on a defensive clinic on Tuesday morning against the Stars that led to a decisive victory on the road, 81-57.

For their second straight game, Minnesota held the opposition under the 60-point mark, forcing San Antonio to shoot 37.3 percent from the field and causing 15 turnovers.

Lindsay Whalen and Maya Moore led the way for the Lynx offensively, combining for 46 points on an extremely impressive 19-for-32 from the floor, 12 rebounds, 12 assists and three steals/blocks.

Moriah Jefferson and Monique Currie were the only two Stars players to tally double-digit points on the day, combining for 24 points, four boards and three assists.

“Their defensive pressure is outstanding and they do a great job of denying people the ball,” Jefferson said. “I think we needed to do more back cuts and more set up moves to get open, and just be tougher with the ball, and obviously we’re going to have to rebound.”

Numbers Game:

17: Any game in which you out-rebound your opponent by this many, you are giving yourself a great chance to win the game. Minnesota was a bully in the paint on Tuesday, hauling in 43 boards, 18 of which were offensive.

“In this case, I think every offensive rebound was by one of our front line players, our three, four and five,” Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve said. “You know, Jia got three to kind of add to it, but we’ve been talking to our post about that area, increasing our opportunities to put the ball in the hole, and I thought today we were really focused on that.”

10: The Lynx showed once again why sharing equals success as they notched this many more assists than the Stars did in Tuesday’s matinee.

“It’s huge, that’s how we play, that’s how we’ve always played,” Whalen said of the team’s ball movement. “It’s so much better for us when we’re moving the ball and we’re sharing it. Good things just seem to happen, but in order for that to happen we have to play really hard defense. I thought that we were able to get stops. There was a little lull in the second quarter, but overall we were able to play great defense and make some really good plays at the other end.”

1: In a disappointing performance from beyond-the-arc, only making this many of their nine attempts in the game, Minnesota didn’t panic and relied on ball movement and intelligent play to pull out the victory in San Antonio.

13th: By scoring 22 points in Tuesday’s matchup, Whalen moved into this place on the WNBA’s All-Time Scoring List.

“Whalen’s really a veteran and she’s smart,” Stars head coach Dan Hughes said. “That’s a good matchup watching her and MJ’s (Moriah Jefferson) play, to be honest with you. It’s really fun to watch, but Lindsay has such great strength for a point guard and her momentum. When she is able to play with movement, she’s able to get into spots with such presence and such physicality. And then I thought her decision making was just really good.”

Leader of the Pack: Maya Moore

The 2014 WNBA’s Most Valubale Player put in 24 points on 50 percent shooting, grabbed seven boards, dished out seven assists, came up with a steal and blocked three shots in 30 minutes of action. That stat-line ladies and gentlemen is considered a great day at the office.

“Our mindset is just to be disruptive, try to slow people’s flow and slow their roll by being physical, being aggressive, being aware and connected, and just trying to out-work the team that we’re playing,” Moore said.

Highlight of the Day: Maya Moore’s Steal and Finish

Midway through the third quarter, Moore stripped the ball, threw a nice outlet pass to Whalen who then tossed it back to Moore for the one-handed layup.