Sun-Lynx Preview

By JEFF BARTL
Posted Jul 06 2012 11:30PM

The Minnesota Lynx knew their title defense wouldn't always go smoothly, so they're not about to panic after a couple of losses.

The Connecticut Sun don't plan to make things any easier.

Minnesota looks to avoid a three-game losing streak when it hosts Connecticut in a matchup of conference leaders Saturday night.

The Lynx (13-3) picked up right where they left off after winning the franchise's first championship last season, winning their first 10 games and dominating the majority of their opponents.

They've hit a bit of a bump lately, though, dropping two straight after falling 96-90 to Los Angeles on Thursday. Seimone Augustus scored 18 points for Minnesota, which trailed by 20 early in the fourth quarter but rallied to make the game tight down the stretch.

"We were starting to get more aggressive but it was just too late,'' said Maya Moore, who added 14 points. "We dug ourselves too big of a hole. We just couldn't find the rhythm and that attention we sort of needed on the defensive end.''

The Lynx, owners of the league's best record, haven't lost three straight since a five-game skid July 17-29, 2010, but coach Cheryl Reeve expects her team to bounce back before the WNBA takes a month-long break for the Olympics beginning July 14.

"That's the No. 1 focus, (how) we're playing going into this break," Reeve told the team's official website. "I want to be playing some of our best basketball going into this break and take some momentum going into that thing. I think we've got to get that feeling of playing great basketball, and that gives us a bounce in our step."

Augustus scored a game-high 23 points in an 85-72 win June 1 at Connecticut, which is coming off an 86-75 win at league-worst Tulsa on Friday.

Tina Charles had averaged 10.7 points while shooting 28.3 percent as Connecticut lost two of its previous three games, but she scored 24 and hit 10 of 15 shots for the Sun (11-4) against the Shock.

Connecticut improved to 5-1 on the road despite Charles playing only five minutes in the first quarter due to foul trouble.

"She was good down the stretch,'' coach Mike Thibault said of Charles. "She really wanted the ball.''

Charles is one of five players in Saturday's matchup who will represent Team USA in London. Sun teammate Asjha Jones, who had 14 points and 10 rebounds Friday, will join Augustus, Moore and Lindsay Whalen of the Lynx.

Sun hang on to defeat Lynx 86-80

Posted Jul 07 2012 11:24PM

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) After a recent hiccup, the Connecticut Sun are back to being one of the best teams in the league.

Kara Lawson was one of three players with double-doubles, scoring 22 points and adding 10 rebounds, and the Sun held on to beat the Minnesota Lynx 86-80 on Saturday in a matchup of conference leaders.

It is the first time in Sun history that three players had double-doubles in the same game.

Tina Charles had 19 points and 15 rebounds and Asjha Jones had 16 points and 11 rebounds, the fourth straight game each player has recorded a double-double.

``When you play a good team, no matter who it is, you want to limit them to one shot,'' Lawson said. ``That's what you do on the defensive glass. Obviously, offensive rebounds gave us extra opportunities. When we went cold in the second half, I thought we got three or four really big offensive rebounds. We were able to pull it back out or we were able to get the putback.''

It was the second straight victory for Connecticut (12-4), which won 86-75 in Tulsa on Friday. The wins come after a stretch where the Sun lost two of three, including a 34-point defeat at Indiana and an overtime home loss to Seattle.

``We knew we were kind of up against it coming in to play a team that had lost a couple in a row and was feeling like they needed to get back on track as well,'' Lawson said. ``This lets us assert ourselves and create some space in the East.'' Connecticut now leads Indiana by 2 1/2 games.

Maya Moore led Minnesota with 19 points while Taj McWilliams-Franklin had 15 for the Lynx (13-4), who have lost three straight for the first time since July 17-29, 2010. The defeat was Minnesota's first in nine home games this season.

``We let some of their key players do some of the things that they were comfortable with and it ended up being too little too late with our comeback,'' Moore said.

The Sun led 74-54 with 7:10 to play, but Minnesota made five 3-pointers - two each by Moore and Candice Wiggins - during a 20-4 run that got the Lynx within 78-74 with 2:23 to play. McWilliams-Franklin scored the other eight points.

``We got caught in transition a couple times kind of debating who's got who,'' said Sun coach Mike Thibault. ``I don't care who's got who, just guard somebody especially if they can make a three.''

With the sellout crowd of 10,882 on its feet, Moore missed a 3-pointer with 1:06 to play and McWilliams-Franklin committed an offensive foul the next time down the floor before the Sun made seven of eight free throws in the final 32 seconds to secure the win.

``Eventually they missed a shot,'' Jones said. ``I think we did a good job securing rebounds and making our free throws down the stretch.''

Back-to-back 3-pointers by Lawson and driving layups by Allison Hightower and Kalana Greene gave the Sun a 51-40 lead early in the second half.

A jumper by Monica Wright and 3-point play by Moore got Minnesota within seven midway through the third quarter, but Connecticut finished on a 13-4 run for a 70-54 lead. Charles had six points during the run; Renee Montgomery four.

Jones scored eight points as Connecticut opened up a 10-point lead late in the first quarter, but Moore hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer and Seimone Augustus scored six points as part of a 17-4 run to put the Lynx up 30-27 midway through the second. The Sun led 41-38 at halftime.

``We got some good looks offensively that we typically make,'' Moore said. ``We got to score with the ball every possession, especially against a team like Connecticut.''

Minnesota forward Devereaux Peters missed the game with a broken left hand. The team's top draft pick in 2012 (third overall) is averaging 5.4 points per game.

• Sun: --
• Lynx: --

• Sun: --
• Lynx: --

• Lead Changes: 6
• Times Tied: 2

• Arena: Target Center, Minneapolis, MN
• Officials: #7 Clarke Stevens, #46 Tim Greene, #57 Donald Hudson
• Attendance: 10882
• Duration: 1:52