Moore Puts On All-Star Performance Against Mercury

You weren’t seriously doubting Maya Moore, were you?

A lot went right for the Lynx as they earned a gutsy win over the weekend in Phoenix. The defense was great, and several key players stepped up, but the story begins and ends with Minnesota’s All-Star small forward.

Even though Moore hadn’t been hitting her shots lately, she came out aggressive against the Mercury. One of the things that makes Moore so special is that she’s able to maintain her confidence even when things aren’t breaking her way. Her first few shots didn’t find the bottom of then net on Saturday, but instead of taking a backseat, Moore forced the issue. She got to the rim, worked out of the post, took opportunistic baskets, and got to the line.

Moore ended up scoring 18 points in the first quarter, nine of those coming from her perfect shooting from the free-throw line.

Now obviously, that’s a little unsustainable—Moore wasn’t going to score over 70 points—but she only slowed down a little in the rest of the game. She finished with 38 points, six rebounds, and a steal. It wasn’t her most efficient game—she shot only 42.9 percent—but Moore looked dominant throughout.

On a night where Sylvia Fowles was held in check (Brittney Griner is a great defender), Moore’s breakout was exactly what the Lynx needed. With a little help from Seimone Augustus (15 points) and Danielle Robinson (16 points against her former team), Minnesota got the victory.

The Lynx now sit in fifth place in the WNBA, just one game out of second, and a half game out of third. The standings are as tight as ever, and it’ll be a fight to the finish for playoff positioning. However, if Moore can build on this impressive outing and dominate down the stretch, the Lynx should have no cause for concern.

Just a reminder, you can see Moore and your other Lynx All-Stars in person at Target Center on Saturday when the WNBA All-Star Game comes to Minneapolis. It’s not every day you get to see so much talent on the court at the same time. If you still need tickets, get them here.