Mitchell Hansen
Web Editorial Associate
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The Minnesota Lynx improved to a WNBA-leading 10-1 overall on Friday night with a 93-76 win over the Washington Mystics at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul.
Here are our three observations from Minnesota’s win:
Bouncing Back
After suffering a loss last Saturday to the Connecticut Sun, Minnesota’s focus all week in practice was to fix their mistakes they made in that loss and correct them on Friday night against Washington.
They certainly did that.
Two big things that the Lynx felt like helped carry them to victory in the game was their defense and ball movement.
Defensively, Minnesota held Washington to shoot 40.3 percent from the field in the game. Offensively, the Lynx recorded 21 team assists on a total of 33 baskets.
With the win, Minnesota is the first team in the WNBA to reach double-digit wins so far this season. The Lynx hold a two-game lead over the Los Angeles Sparks (8-3 overall) for the best record in the WNBA.
Moore, Fowles Lead The Way
Maya Moore and Sylvia Fowles led the way for the Lynx in the game.
Moore had a near triple-double of 22 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists in the game. She was on fire in the first half, going into halftime with 18 points, 10 rebounds and four assists.
Fowles finished with a double-double of 21 points and 15 rebounds. The 6-foot-6 center also recorded five blocks in the game.
Along with Moore and Fowles, Lindsay Whalen had 12 points, six assists and six rebounds, Rebekkah Brunson had 11 points and four rebounds and both Seimone Augustus and Natasha Howard had nine points each.
Containing Delle Donne
In the opening quarter of Friday’s game, Mystics forward Elena Delle Donne appeared to start to settle into a groove early, tallying 10 points and five rebounds in the first frame.
But the Lynx defense, led by Rebekkah Brunson, who matched up against Delle Donne for most of the night, did a nice job of containing her the rest of the game.
After her first quarter, Delle Donne went on to record just seven points and three rebounds in the final three quarters, finishing with 17 points and eight rebounds. It’s just the fourth time she has been held under 20 points this season.
You can credit that all to the Minnesota defense, which is one of the best in the entire WNBA.
The Lynx are back in action on Sunday night when they take on the San Antonio Stars at 6 p.m. at Xcel Energy Center. That game will be aired on Fox Sports North, NBA TV and 106.1 BOB FM.