Mitchell Hansen
Web Editorial Associate
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The Minnesota Lynx return to action on Thursday night when they host the Washington Mystics in Game 2 at Williams Arena in the best-of-five semifinal round.
The Lynx currently hold a 1-0 series lead over the Mystics in the final game in front of their home crowd before hitting the road for Game 3 of the series on Sunday in the nation’s capital.
Minnesota is in a new home at Williams Arena for the postseason. And if Tuesday’s Game 1 was any indication of just how loud Williams Arena will get, it’s safe to say it will certainly be a great homecourt advantage for the Lynx.
“The playoffs last year were unbelievable. If we’re comparing it to that, it was loud in here for sure,” Renee Montgomery said before shootaround this morning. “Lynx fans are loud, that’s really all you can say. Lynx fans are loud.”
Although the Lynx seemed to breeze past the Mystics in Game 1 on Tuesday, they feel they have some things that still need be worked on to try and extend the series lead to 2-0.
“I think defensively, just continuing to be as aggressive as we were (in Game 1), but just adding a touch more discipline. We feel like there were some areas we still want to clean up defensively to make it even harder,” Maya Moore said. “(Washington) has been awesome in attacking the offensive boards. It’s something they’ve really emphasized this postseason and something that we’ll continue to step up and try and make that an area where they won’t get easy points.”
And for Montgomery, who played under Washington head coach Mike Thibault earlier in her WNBA career, she knows the Lynx will have a tough task of winning a second straight game on Thursday night.
“A team coached by coach Thibault, I played for him, so obviously I know they are going to pick apart whatever mistakes we made,” Montgomery said. “They are going to go back and watch the film, see what mistakes we made and try to exploit us. Last game wasn’t easy, but I know tonight will be a lot more difficult.”
Minnesota and Washington will tip off at 7 p.m. Thursday at Williams Arena. The game will be aired on ESPN2, 106.1 BOB FM and TuneIn Radio.