Lynx-Mercury Preview

By KATE HEDLIN
Posted Sep 10 2011 6:12PM

The Minnesota Lynx have wrapped up the best record in the WNBA, but they, like most of the league, have had little success in slowing down Diana Taurasi.

With both teams' playoff positions set, it's possible Taurasi and some other stars will get extra rest Sunday as the Lynx and Mercury close the regular season at US Airways Center.

Minnesota (26-7) and Phoenix (19-14) are both playoff-bound, with the Lynx having secured the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference and the Mercury owning the third seed.

That means these teams could meet in the conference finals. They've split four matchups this season, with each team winning once on the road.

It hasn't mattered where the games have been played for Taurasi, who is making a good case for league MVP honors. She's averaging 24.3 points against the Lynx this season, even higher than her league-best 21.7 average.

Taurasi is coming off another impressive performance, scoring 36 points in an 85-70 loss at Seattle on Friday.

Minnesota coach Cheryl Reeve thinks her team has two MVPs.

One is Seimone Augustus, who is among the league leaders with 16.2 points per game and has averaged 23.5 against the Mercury.

The other is Lindsey Whalen, who had 20 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds in Thursday's 78-69 win over Chicago. Whalen became the first player in WNBA history to have at least 20 points and 10 assists without a turnover.

"MVP," Reeve said. "If you're only looking at statistics, maybe it's not so impressive to an average person that doesn't watch our team. If you watch our team, and I saw this too, Seimone is right there as well, but I just thought Whay kind of solidified herself tonight again, an exclamation point."

Whalen, who had totaled 16 points on 4-of-14 shooting in her previous two games, is averaging 14.1 points and 5.9 assists.

The Lynx have won eight of nine to secure home-court advantage throughout the playoffs, but they have looked just as comfortable on the road recently. Minnesota has won four straight away from home, holding teams to an average of 65.8 points.

The Lynx's last road loss was an 85-80 defeat at Phoenix on Aug. 9. Taurasi had 26 points and a key steal in the victory.

Penny Taylor has missed the last two games for Phoenix with back spasms. She's second on the team in scoring with 16.7 points per game, but with little to play for Sunday, the Mercury may opt to rest her in the finale.

Lynx top Mercury in regular-season finale

Posted Sep 11 2011 9:47PM

PHOENIX (AP) Maya Moore, Monica Wright and Seimone Augustus all scored 15 points and the Minnesota Lynx beat the Phoenix Mercury 96-90 on Sunday in the regular-season finale for both teams.

As the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference playoffs, Minnesota (27-7) will host San Antonio on Friday in the opener of the best-of-3 semifinal series. Third-place Phoenix (19-15) will travel to Seattle for its first game of the playoffs on Thursday.

Diana Taurasi led the Mercury with 19 points and won the WNBA scoring title for the fourth consecutive season. She also grabbed five rebounds.

Taurasi secured her fifth scoring title in her eight-year career when she made a 3-pointer with 6:15 left. Her average of 21.6 points per game edged out Atlanta's Angel McCoughtry.

Minnesota, which has won nine of 10, owns home-court advantage throughout the playoffs.

The Lynx led 79-63, after three quarters but the Mercury got within 89-84 with 4:03 remaining. Alexis Hornbuckle and Wright both scored to help Minnesota hold on.

Rebekkah Brunson added 14 points, and Jessica Adair had 10 points and 13 rebounds for the Lynx, who haven't been in the playoffs since getting swept by Seattle in the first round in 2004. Their only other appearance was a loss the year before to Los Angeles.

Marie Ferdinand-Harris added 15 points and DeWanna Bonner had 14 for Phoenix.

The Mercury are in the playoffs for the fourth time in five years, having won the WNBA title in 2007 and 2009. They were swept by eventual champion Seattle in the conference finals last season.

Penny Taylor, the Mercury's second-leading scorer, sat out for the fifth time in six games. She only played a half in her last appearance on Sept. 3. The team has said Taylor is set to play in the postseason.

Moore had 11 points, including six in the final 3:41 of the second quarter, as Minnesota opened up a 52-45 lead at the break.

DeWanna Bonner scored 14 points in the first half for the Mercury, which lost three of five meetings with Minnesota.

The Lynx won all four meetings with San Antonio during the regular season. The Mercury lost three of four against Seattle.

• Lynx: --
• Mercury: --

• Lynx: --
• Mercury: --

• Lead Changes: 14
• Times Tied: 8

• Arena: US Airways Center, Phoenix, AZ
• Officials: #38 Lamont Simpson, #39 Michael Price, #34 Maj Forsberg
• Attendance: 12666
• Duration: 1:45