Lynx-Silver Stars Preview

By MIKE LIPKA
Posted Jun 25 2010 12:28PM

The Minnesota Lynx have won three straight on the heels of a difficult start, but their latest victory may have felt more like a loss.

In their first game following Candice Wiggins' season-ending injury, the Lynx try to move on without their standout guard as they visit the San Antonio Silver Stars on Saturday night.

Wiggins had already missed six games this season with a torn meniscus, while Minnesota star Seimone Augustus was out for the first nine following fibroids surgery - a big reason the Lynx began 2-9.

With a healthier lineup, Minnesota (5-9) finally began to find a groove with a home-and-home sweep of Tulsa last weekend, but Wiggins ruptured her left Achilles' tendon during Tuesday's 75-68 win at New York. The former Stanford star, who was averaging 13.8 points, had surgery Friday.

"Our hearts go out to Candice," first-year coach Cheryl Reeve said. "Candice gives us a lot of things, she gives us flexibility, she gives a second ball handler. She was really getting going and playing well, she's a leader so we're going to miss some intangibles and certainly some very specific basketball things and we're just going to have to find a way to fill the void."

Rookie Monica Wright figures to claim the bulk of Wiggins' minutes. Wright, the No. 2 overall pick out of Virginia, has already shown flashes of brilliance, scoring 32 points in a 92-82 win over Phoenix on June 1.

Augustus and Rebekkah Brunson carried the load against the Liberty, combining for 41 points as the Lynx improved to 2-0 on this four-game road trip. Minnesota is going for its first four-game winning streak since it began the 2008 season 5-0.

"We wanted to come in and get our third win in a row, get on that streak," center Nicky Anosike said.

San Antonio (4-7) returns home after a 1-2 trip that ended in disheartening fashion with an 82-61 loss to WNBA-leading Seattle on Sunday.

The Silver Stars' three top scorers - Sophia Young, Chamique Holdsclaw and Becky Hammon - shot a combined 12 for 39 (30.8 percent) from the field while the Storm had twice as many rebounds as San Antonio, 46-23.

"We got outhustled and punched up in all areas of the game," first-year coach Sandy Brondello said. "I thought we were a little tougher than that, but obviously not. ... We knew it was hard coming into their home court, but allowing 17 offensive boards is just unacceptable."

This is the first of five meetings between these teams. The Silver Stars went 3-1 against Minnesota last year, but the Lynx won 83-76 at San Antonio without Augustus on July 12.

Michelle Snow helps Silver Stars beat Lynx

Posted Jun 26 2010 11:19PM

SAN ANTONIO(AP) Michelle Snow scored 15 of her season-high 23 points in the first half and had nine rebounds to help the San Antonio Silver Stars beat the Minnesota Lynx 80-66 on Saturday night.

Becky Hammon added a season-best 21 points and a career-high 10 assists, and Sophia Young had 17 points for the Silver Stars (5-7), playing their first home game in 15 days.

Snow was 6 of 6 from the field in the first half and 7 of 8 overall. She added a career-best nine free throws and finished a point short of her career high.

``I feel like they don't respect us in the post,'' said Snow, whose role was amplified by an injury to her backup, Ruth Riley, at Phoenix last week. ``Minnesota, to start the game, wasn't even guarding us. We were wide open under the basket. That says a lot about what they think of you in the post.''

When the Lynx tried to clamp down around the basket in the second half, that opened things up for Hammon from the outside. She scored 17 points after halftime, including four 3-pointers.

``Michelle is extremely important to us, and we know that we want to get her active early and often,'' Hammon said. ``The more she gets touches early in the game, that's just going to loosen up everybody else down the stretch.''

The Lynx entered the game with a three-game winning streak and hit their first three shots to take a 6-0 lead. But the Silver Stars scored the next nine points and led the rest of the way.

San Antonio took sole possession of second place in the Western Conference, a half-game ahead of Phoenix but six games behind Seattle. The Silver Stars, already 0-2 against the Storm this season, visit Seattle on Tuesday night.

``We knew we had to get better (defensively), and we got better in that,'' said Silver Stars coach Sandy Brondello, whose team - the worst in the league in rebounding - had a 40-35 edge on the boards and held Minnesota to 38.5-percent shooting.

``My challenge is, can we do two games in a row? That's the key now. We've won one game; there's no need to jump around, 'Hoorah!' Seattle has dominated us in two games. Can we put our best game forward? We'll see.''

Seimone Augustus led Minnesota (5-10) with 14 points on 6-of-20 shooting.

``We couldn't put the ball in the hole,'' Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve said. ``That's what it came down to, and those guys shot (52.8) percent. We couldn't match that on the offensive end. Seimone Augustus is our go-to player, and she had some good opportunities. It just wasn't her night.''

Both teams were short-handed. The Silver Stars were down to nine players after injuries to Riley (broken right pinkie) and Megan Frazee (left meniscus) in the past eight days. Minnesota was missing Candice Wiggins, out for the season after rupturing her left Achilles' tendon Tuesday.

• Lynx: Wiggins
• Silver Stars: Frazee, Riley

• Lynx: --
• Silver Stars: --

• Lead Changes: 1
• Times Tied: 2

• Arena: AT&T Center, San Antonio, TX
• Officials: #52 James Williams, #35 Billy Smith, #39 Michael Price
• Attendance: 10184
• Duration: 1:50