Silver Stars-Lynx Preview

By NOEY KUPCHAN
Posted Aug 25 2011 5:44PM

The San Antonio Silver Stars seem to be falling apart, and snapping their longest skid of the season could prove difficult against the WNBA-leading Minnesota Lynx.

The Silver Stars, losers of four straight in this series and four in a row overall, visit the Lynx for the opener of a home-and-home set Friday night.

San Antonio (13-13) is on the verge of falling below .500 for the first time all year after dropping four in a row and eight of 10. The Silver Stars are just 1 1/2 games in front of Los Angeles for the final Western Conference playoff spot, with their 7-1 start to the season a distant memory.

If San Antonio hopes to make a fifth consecutive postseason appearance, guard Becky Hammon will likely need to step up. The team leader with 16.1 points per game, she scored in single digits for the second time in three games as the Silver Stars fell 63-55 at Seattle on Tuesday. The loss was their fifth in six road contests.

Hammon had six points and shot 1 of 8 in a 65-63 loss to Indiana on Aug. 16. She rebounded to score 22 points in an 87-81 defeat to Phoenix on Saturday, but was held to a season-low four and went 2 of 10 from the floor against the Storm.

San Antonio, shooting 38.0 percent during its four-game skid, shot 32.4 percent Tuesday.

"We're going to have to finish better offensively to win on the road in those situations," coach Dan Hughes said. "We gave ourselves a chance, but you're not going to win a lot of games shooting 32 percent."

The Silver Stars have struggled to recapture the early season form that saw them average 92.1 points during their first eight games.

"We have to build from this. We came out aggressive and had a mentality that was focused and determined. This next game against Minnesota, we just have to carry that over," forward Sophia Young said. "Obviously these next couple of games are important for us to win so we have to get it in our minds that it's a must-win."

The Silver Stars' losing streak to the Lynx (21-6) reached four with a pair of losses this season, but both came by a total of three points.

Having clinched a playoff berth, Minnesota's focus is on securing the top seed throughout the postseason. The Lynx have won 14 of 16 and are two games ahead of East-leading Indiana.

Taj McWilliams-Franklin scored 18 points to help Minnesota hand Tulsa its 19th consecutive loss Tuesday, 78-72.

McWilliams-Franklin also had 18 points and hit the winning jumper with 1.3 seconds remaining as the Lynx defeated San Antonio 62-60 at the Target Center on Aug. 4.

Minnesota has won seven straight at home by an average of 15.9 points.

Silver Stars 75, Lynx 85

By JON KRAWCZYNSKI
Posted Aug 26 2011 10:12PM

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) Seimone Augustus scored 19 points and Maya Moore added 18 points and seven rebounds to lead the Minnesota Lynx to an 85-75 victory over the San Antonio Silver Stars on Friday night.

Lindsay Whalen added 14 points and nine assists and Rebekkah Brunson had 15 points and eight boards for the Lynx (22-6), who are running away from the rest of the Western Conference.

Silver Stars rookie Danielle Adams scored 10 points in her first game back with the Silver Stars since July 26 because of a sprained right foot. Sophia Young added 10 points and six boards, but San Antonio lost its fifth straight game.

The Silver Stars had been one of the only teams to slow down the frenetic Lynx pace, using hard-nosed defense to keep the first two meetings of the season close.

The Lynx needed game-winning shots in the final 2 seconds of the first two games - one by Whalen and one by Taj McWilliams-Franklin - to beat the Stars.

This game appeared to be another white-knuckler, with the Lynx clinging to a 61-57 lead after three quarters.

But Minnesota blew the doors off the place in the fourth, outscoring San Antonio 17-1 in the first 5 minutes of the period to pull away.

Moore hit two 3-pointers, Augustus had a three-point play and a putback and Whalen scored on a fastbreak during the burst that gave the Lynx a 78-58 lead.

The Silver Stars didn't score their first field goal of the period until the 4:57 mark, and it was far too late by then.

McWilliams-Franklin finished with 10 points, seven rebounds and three blocks.

Connecticut defeated Phoenix on Friday night, meaning the Lynx will clinch the top seed in the West with one more victory or a Mercury loss in the final six games.

The bright spot for the Silver Stars was the return of Adams, who missed 11 straight games. San Antonio got off to a 10-5 start with her in the lineup and went 3-8 while she was out.

The big forward delivered a teeth-rattling screen on Moore, then showed off her shooting skills by burying a 3-pointer from well behind the line to give San Antonio a 34-32 lead in the second quarter.

Whalen came right back with a spectacular scoop shot - her back turned toward the basket - and a pair of free throws to help the Lynx take a 38-36 lead at the break.

It's been a difficult year for Twin Cities sports fans, with the Vikings and Timberwolves finishing in last place and the Twins tumbling in that direction as September nears. The Lynx have finally given them something to cheer about as they've steamrolled to the best record in the WNBA.

Women's basketball is starting to grab a foothold in Minnesota. Even on a beautiful August night when the Twins hosted division rival Detroit right across the street at Target Field, the Lynx had 9,212 fans in Target Center, which constitutes a sellout for Lynx games. It was the third-largest crowd of the season.

• Silver Stars: --
• Lynx: --

• Silver Stars: --
• Lynx: --

• Lead Changes: 10
• Times Tied: 8

• Arena: Target Center, Minneapolis, MN
• Officials: #13 Cameron Inouye, #55 Eric Brewton, #24 Tony Dawkins
• Attendance: 9212
• Duration: 1:49