Silver Stars-Lynx Preview

By NOEY KUPCHAN
Posted Aug 27 2012 3:30PM

After the San Antonio Silver Stars saw the longest winning streak in franchise history come to an end last week, they didn't have much trouble bouncing back in a more favorable matchup their last time out.

They're all but certain to get tested again during a visit to Minnesota.

San Antonio seeks a 14th victory in 15 games and tries to inch closer to the WNBA-leading Lynx on Tuesday night.

The Silver Stars (17-6) suddenly find themselves with one of the league's best records thanks to a 13-1 stretch. San Antonio, which won 12 in a row before getting blown out 101-77 at Los Angeles on Thursday, bounced back two days later and clinched a playoff berth with a 91-71 victory over Tulsa.

"We didn't play so well against L.A.," said forward Danielle Adams, who scored 18 points off the bench Saturday, "(but) we had to retune our focus to Tulsa. We came out aggressive. We were acting like we didn't lose against L.A. That's how we have to come out every game."

The Silver Stars outscored the Shock 47-25 in the second and third quarters, allowing some of their best players to rest before Tuesday's showdown.

"It's a pretty nice situation when you don't have to play Becky Hammon and Sophia Young in the fourth quarter, especially in this stretch," said coach Dan Hughes, whose team sits two games behind Minnesota (19-4) and one back of the second-place Sparks in the Western Conference.

"That's our fifth game in 10 days. (Sunday) will be the first day we haven't been on a plane or played a game in 10 days."

While the Target Center has been a tough venue for visitors, San Antonio nearly erased a 26-point third-quarter deficit before falling 83-79 at Minnesota on June 3. The Silver Stars beat the Lynx 93-84 at home July 1 behind a combined 45 points from Hammon and Young.

"San Antonio is definitely a good team but we're excited to get back (home) and play in front of our fans," Minnesota's Rebekkah Brunson said after scoring 21 points during Saturday's 84-74 victory at Atlanta. "So we just hope that everybody comes out and gives us that lift as the sixth man."

The Lynx, 11-1 on their own court and winners of six straight overall, have outscored opponents by an average of 19.0 points in four games since the Olympic break.

"I think that the break gave us an opportunity to rest up a little bit and also get to work on the things that we need to improve on," Brunson said. "We really took advantage of the break and it's paying off now."

Averaging a team-best 17.0 points, Seimone Augustus - who scored a game-high 23 Saturday - has recorded at least 20 three times since the break. She has averaged 11.5, though, in the two games against San Antonio this season.

These teams will meet twice in Texas in September.

Whalen leads Minnesota to OT win over San Antonio

Posted Aug 28 2012 11:47PM

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) On a record-setting night for Taj McWilliams-Franklin, it was her specialty that led the Minnesota Lynx to victory.

The 13-year veteran was one of three Lynx with five offensive rebounds, and Minnesota scored 29 second-chance points on 19 offensive boards to grind out a 96-84 overtime victory against the San Antonio Silver Stars on Tuesday night.

McWilliams-Franklin scored a season-high 19 points, while Rebekkah Brunson added 17 to go with a franchise-record and career-best 20 rebounds as the Western Conference-leading Lynx pushed the third-place Silver Stars to three games back in the standings.

``We knew we had to limit their second chance points,'' Brunson said. ``We really focused in on not letting them get those offensive boards and we always try to attack the glass offensively to get extra possessions and extra points.''

Seimone Augustus scored 19 points for the Lynx, Lindsay Whalen chipped in eight of her 15 in overtime and Maya Moore added 14 as Minnesota (20-4) extended its winning streak to seven games. It also improved to 12-1 at home.

McWilliams-Franklin's putback with 1:51 left in the second quarter put her in sole possession of the WNBA's offensive rebounding record, and she grabbed two more the rest of the way for a career total of 1,052. Yolanda Griffith held the previous record with 1,049.

``I'm thankful to have my name first, and in a couple years it will be someone else's and I'll move down the line,'' McWilliams-Franklin said. ``But for now I'm just proud I'm here and able to continue playing, able to be someone the Minnesota Lynx can depend on.''

Sophia Young and Jia Perkins led San Antonio with 19 points apiece, while Becky Hammon added 13 and Danielle Robinson scored 10. The Silver Stars lost for the second time in three games after winning 12 straight.

After falling behind by nine points in the fourth quarter, San Antonio (17-7) finished the game on an 8-2 run to send the contest into overtime. Hammon missed a potential game-winning runner at the end of regulation.

From there, it was all Minnesota.

The Lynx scored 10 consecutive points to begin overtime, five coming from Whalen. San Antonio shot just 1 for 7 in the extra period and scored five points, while the Lynx - who shot 43.5 percent in regulation - went 7 of 9 from the floor.

``The second half we had a much better focus of trying to compete against the physicality and got through their defense a little bit, so in the overtime we had a lot of confidence in that area,'' Minnesota coach Cheryl Reeve said. ``When you get a couple stops and couple scores, then all of a sudden everything just raises and you can dig in defensively.''

Minnesota outrebounded the Silver Stars 52-31, including a 19-7 margin on the offensive glass. It proved to be the difference against a San Antonio team that was the only squad to push the Lynx to three games during last season's playoff run to the WNBA title.

Minnesota has won two of the three games against the Silver Stars this season with a pair of contests left between the teams in San Antonio.

``They sure have been great games,'' Silver Stars coach Dan Hughes said. ``When you get on the road and are playing good teams and they reach that kind of intensity you find out what you do well and what you don't do well. As tough as it is to lose, I think there's a learning possibility from this type of game.''

The Silver Stars lost for the first time in 14 games this season where they held a halftime lead.

• Silver Stars: --
• Lynx: --

• Silver Stars: --
• Lynx: --

• Lead Changes: 17
• Times Tied: 10

• Arena: Target Center, Minneapolis, MN
• Officials: #4 Sue Blauch, #28 Angelica Suffren, #45 Tom Mauer
• Attendance: 8532
• Duration: 1:57