Lynx-Shock Preview

By SANTOSH VENKATARAMAN
Posted Jun 09 2012 1:08AM

The Minnesota Lynx have an excellent chance to match the best start in WNBA history.

They are facing a winless opponent coming off a difficult loss and are hopeful that star Seimone Augustus will return to the lineup.

Augustus is listed as questionable Saturday night when the visiting Lynx look to improve to 9-0 and drop the Tulsa Shock to 0-8 for the year.

Minnesota got late news that Augustus would be out Wednesday but it hardly mattered in a 79-55 home rout of Seattle. Augustus, averaging a team-high 18.1 points, was sidelined with a right quad strain.

"Seimone, right before the game, she's been having some problems with her - I hate to say knee, because you guys are going to think it's a knee problem - it's really a muscular (issue) right above her knee she's been struggling with," coach Cheryl Reeve said.

The Lynx are one win shy of becoming the third team to start 9-0, with Los Angeles accomplishing the feat in 2001 and 2003.

They built a 17-point lead after one quarter Wednesday and put five players in double figures, led by Taj McWilliams-Franklin's 17 points.

"It's disconcerting for the rest of the league when we don't have our best player and we still win by almost 30," McWilliams-Franklin said.

Tulsa remains off to the second-worst start in franchise history after blowing a seven-point lead with 32 seconds left in regulation in Friday's 98-91 overtime defeat at Chicago. Ivory Latta scored 25 points to lead the Shock, who allowed the Sky to make three 3-pointers over the final 30 seconds of the fourth quarter in an 11-4 run for the home team.

The Shock started 0-13 in 2002 when the franchise was based in Detroit.

The Lynx have won six straight over the Shock, but are trying to not look at their opponent's record.

"We're undefeated for a reason but we gotta remember that, not get too high on ourselves, which we're not," guard Candice Wiggins said. "We're a humble team. I feel like Tulsa is kind of like going to be one of the toughest games of the year."

Lindsay Whalen averaged a team-high 15.8 points as Minnesota won the four matchups with Tulsa last season by an average of 18.5 points. The Lynx are the league's highest-scoring team at 85.9 points per game as they get ready to face a Shock team that likes to play at a fast tempo.

"We're planning for chaos," Reeve told the Lynx's official website. "That's what they do to teams and they turn teams over. They're scoring 23 points a game off their turnovers, so we're planning for that."

Tulsa's reserves combined for 62 points Friday. Glory Johnson and Scholanda Dorrell each scored 17.

Moore leads Lynx to 9th straight win

Posted Jun 09 2012 11:28PM

TULSA, Okla. (AP) Maya Moore scored 26 points - two shy of her career-high - and Minnesota beat the winless Tulsa Shock 93-73 on Saturday night as the Lynx tied the WNBA record with their ninth straight win to open the season.

The Lynx (9-0) matched the 2001 and 2003 Los Angeles Sparks for most victories to start a season.

Moore, the league's reigning rookie of the year, scored 14 points in the third quarter when the Lynx pulled away to a 70-58 lead.

Minnesota coach Cheryl Reeve said Moore keyed the 26-16 run that allowed the defending WNBA champions to take control.

``This was a fun game for Maya, she was poised and yet she was aggressive,'' Reeve said. ``She took some tough shots, missed some easy ones, made some tough ones. All-in-all, she hit some timely shots for us in the third quarter when we really needed her.''

Monica Wright scored 18 points for Minnesota, while Rebekkah Brunson added 15 and Taj McWilliams-Franklin had 11.

Moore, who was 9-of-19 from the field, deflected the attention to her teammates.

``We had 23 assists on 34 field goals,'' Moore said. ``Lindsay Whalen was phenomenal with 10 assists. We really shared the ball well.''

Jennifer Lacy had 15 points, all in the first half, for the Shock (0-8), while Temeka Johnson scored 14 points and Karima Christmas added 11.

``Tulsa had our full attention. There was no talk that this was a winless team,'' Reeve said. ``They've been in most of their games and had a chance to win at least a couple of games. So, they had our full attention. It wasn't a surprise to us that they held tough in the first half.''

Lacy, who made four 3-pointers in the first half, missed all three of her shots in the second.

``She got off for some 3-pointers and at halftime we talked about forcing her out of her comfort zone,'' Reeve said.

The Lynx got going in the second half.

``When we put up the numbers we did tonight, it's good,'' said Moore, who will represent the U.S. in the Olympics. ``It's going to be a long summer and I'm trying to pace myself.

``I'm just trying to grow and learn and compete,'' she said. ``At this level, your mistakes are magnified. Everyone is bigger, stronger, faster in the WNBA than in college. Every day is a learning experience. I'm just trying to become the player I know I can be in this league.''

Shock coach Gary Kloppenburg said he enjoys watching Moore play.

``She's a winner. She just makes everything look easy. She has that pace about her,'' he said. ``If she wasn't doing it against my team, I might enjoy it a little more.''

• Lynx: --
• Shock: --

• Lynx: --
• Shock: --

• Lead Changes: 4
• Times Tied: 2

• Arena: BOK Center, Tulsa, OK
• Officials: #55 Eric Brewton, #25 Marcus Clayton, #34 Maj Forsberg
• Attendance: 5113
• Duration: 1:59