Moore Leads Team Parker To Victory In 2018 WNBA All-Star Game

The 2018 All-Star Game is a wrap! Maya Moore, Rebekkah Brunson and Team Parker defeated Seimone Augustus, Sylvia Fowles and Team Delle Donne 119-112 in an entertaining contest that featured great plays from many of the WNBA’s brightest stars. In addition, the Lynx’s Maya Moore won the All-Star MVP award, her third in a row.

It was the All-Star game, so defense wasn’t top priority. However, with the defense being a little softer, the stars got a chance to show off some tricks. We got a long stint of Liz Cambage playing the point guard position, several deep Kristi Tolliver threes, a couple alley-oops to Atlanta’s Angel McCoughtry and even a dunk from Cambage!

Moore led Team Parker with 18 points, eight rebounds and six assists. Allie Quigley added 18 with two assists, and Skylar Diggins-Smith scored 18 with eight assists and eight rebounds. On Team Delle Donne, Kristi Toliver was definitely the star, scoring 23 including seven threes. Toliver almost led Team Delle Donne to a comeback, but couldn’t quite put them over the edge.

The most exciting part of the game was probably the three-point contest, where Allie Quigley and Kayla McBride tied with 18 points each in the final round. Each player had another chance, and the reigning 3-point champion Quigley didn’t let it slip away, dropping an insane 29 points. She went 5-of-5 on the moneyball rack and took home the trophy.

All the Lynx players played well today. In addition to Moore’s MVP performance, Augustus got hot in the second half, finishing with 14 points and two threes on as many attempts. Brunson and Fowles didn’t score much, but finished with five and six rebounds, respectively.

Things got a little heated between Augustus and Brunson in the second half, with Brunson locking up Augustus in a fashion not typically seen in the All-Star game and Augustus responding with a good-natured shove, but after the game they seem to have made up—the Lynx’s team chemistry has evidently been preserved. With the two veterans and friends on different teams, we knew there was going to be some trash talk, so honestly, we should just be glad they’re still friends.

Before the game, Moore told Fowles that she wasn’t allowed to block her, and Fowles took that to heart. Apparently, Tina Charles did not have a similar conversation with Fowles—she was stuffed by the Lynx center on a layup attempt. If there was a defensive player of the game award for the All-Star game, it definitely would have gone to Fowles.

It was Fowles’ goal to hit a three in the game, but unfortunately that did not come to pass. She attempted two from the corner spot, but neither found their mark.

“I’m very upset. I normally knock those down,” said Fowles. “The corners are my spot at practice, and I just couldn’t get one for you guys, but better luck next time.”

The All-Star weekend as a whole was a definite success. The fans were excited, the players had fun, and the Lynx stars enjoyed the opportunity to show off their city.

“You could see it on all our faces, we had a good time, and to have that fun reciprocated with the crowd, it’s just a great time to be here. It was beautiful in Target Center,” said Moore. “So many of our fans showing out, and fans from all over coming and being able to enjoy Minneapolis right now, and enjoy what we have here.”

Now that the festivities are over, the Lynx actually can take a few days to catch their breath. They’ll certainly need it with a tough stretch on the road coming up. Minnesota is back in action next Thursday against the Sparks. Being teammates with Candace Parker was fun while it lasted, but in a few days, it’ll be go time again.