Lynx Defuse Shock in Home Opener

Heading into Minnesota's season-opening contest against the Detroit Shock Sunday afternoon at Target Center, one expected the Lynx to put forth a solid 40-minute effort. After all, head coach Don Zierden's team did as much in nearly each and every game last season.

Well, let's just say that expectations were exceeded.

Not only was Minnesota's energy fantastic from the beginning, but all three of its 2008 draft picks were absolutely terrific in helping to deliver an improbable 84-70 victory over the defending Eastern Conference champs.

"We do play hard," said Zierden after the game. "If we play hard, we have a chance to win every game."

Third-round pick Charde Houston led the Lynx with 21 points off the bench, while fellow rookie Candice Wiggins (the No. 3 overall pick) had 15, not to mention 11 from second-round pick Nicky Anosike. That's 47 points from three rookies if you don't feel like doing the math yourself.

"What can you say ... I was so impressed with what Nicky and Charde gave us," said Wiggins, who added four rebounds, two assists and a game-high four steals. "That's the Charde I grew up knowing, and Nicky didn't let any of the pressure of starting as a rookie get to her. She was great."

Seimone Augustus picked her spots to add 14 points, though six came during a crucial third-quarter stretch that effectively buried the Shock, and starting point guard Noelle Quinn added four assists and three boards without a single turnover.

Among a terrific crowd of 9,972 fans were 2,000 kids from the Boys & Girls Clubs, who could be heard screaming throughout the Home Opener Presented by Best Buy.

Before the game, we put together three "Keys to the Contest," and subsequently followed the game on a quarter-by-quarter basis to make sure you missed not a minute of the action.

Keys to the Contest
1) Be the Aggressor
- If Minnesota is going to win this game, it's going to need to jump on the Shock from the tip, and capitalize on some terrific Target Center energy thanks to a hearty crowd. Realistically, one of the only advantages the Lynx have on paper is youth and athleticism: where as Detroit is a veteran bunch that's been together for several years. Towards that end, the Shock must already have its entire playbook in, where as Lynx head coach Don Zierden has three rookies (Candice Wiggins, Nicky Anosike, Charde Houston), and two veterans from other WNBA teams (Anna DeForge and Kristen Rasmussen). That leaves Zierden just five players (Seimone Augustus, Navonda Moore, Shay Murphy, Nicole Ohlde and Noelle Quinn) with whom he worked last season ... Three of whom were rookies.

2) Run Baby, Run
- A major reason the Phoenix Mercury were able to beat Detroit in the WNBA Finals last season was their ability to get out in transition and get easy buckets, courtesy of superior athleticism. Because, while Detroit has some terrific athletes, they aren't the most athletic team in the league ... Accordingly, it's important to get easy baskets on the break, because if you let Detroit get set up in their halfcourt defense, easy baskets are few and far between. The Lynx have the athletes (Augustus and Wiggins in particular, in addition to Ohlde, who's far better in transition than you'd think) to score on the break, and they'd best use them.

3) Punch Them Back
It's no secret that Detroit has taken on the personality of its head coach, Bill Laimbeer, and it's no secret that the former head "Bad Boy" of Detroit Pistons lore wasn't above an elbow here or there to get an advantage. As such, the Shock is known by many players around the WNBA as the "Bad Girls." The final key for Minnesota is thus not allowing Detroit to intimidate with any of that junk. Otherwise, it'll be a long evening for the Lynx.

First Quarter
- While Detroit's Deanna Nolan opened the game with a jumper, it was rookie Nicky Anosike who was the game's most impressive player in the early goings. Anosike hit two free throws and a jumper for Minnesota's first four points, made two nice defensive plays on Cheryl Ford and, most importantly, showed Detroit that the Lynx weren't going quiver at the Shock's physical play.
- Katie Smith's second three and eighth point made it 12-8 Shock almost halfway through the first quarter.
- Navonde Moore entered the game and almost immediately canned a three from the corner, something she simply didn't do last season. Moore and Shay Murphy settled a fierce battle for some of the final roster spots by both making the team.
- Charde Houston immediately showed her offensive savvy with a nice head fake for a hoop in the lane to make it 15-15. An offensive possession later, Houston took the ball on the left wing and drove the ball all the way to the hoop with a nice finish at the rim. How's that for a third-round pick?
- Two minutes later, Houston again scored consecutive hoops to give her eight first-quarter points, the second coming after a great defensive set led to Houston's fastbreak layup. 21-18 Lynx.
- Minnesota tossed six assists for its nine field goals in the first quarter, and forced five Shock turnovers while scoring 12-of-23 points in the paint.

Second Quarter
- Anna DeForge nailed her first bucket in a Lynx jersey, and added two boards and a dime to her effort. Like Kristen Rasmussen, she's only beginning to learn Zierden's playbook. Minnesota's only able to run about three plays right now, as we've seen at the game's open.
- Candice Wiggins scored her first points for the Lynx on a wide-open three-point look to give Minnesota a 33-30 lead. On the next possession, Anosike hit a beautiful turnaround in the lane. Great start from the rooks thus far.
- The Lynx, flying all over the court, built a 42-34 lead with sheer out effort - and a few nice jumpers from sub Kristen Rasmussen, who came to the Lynx from Connecticut in exchange for Tamika Raymond.
- Wiggins dropped her second triple of the game with about 25 seconds left in the half to claim a 45-40 lead for Minnesota, and capped a terrific half of basketball despite barely getting a foul call from the officials. The Lynx shot an impressive 52.9 percent from the field, far exceeding averages from the previous season, and generally took it to the veteran-laden Shock squad.
- Charde Houston led the squad with 11 points, while Candice Wiggins added eight and Nicky Anosike seven. So, add that up, and Minnesota's three draft picks combined for 26 of the squad's 45 points. However, seven other Lynx players scored at least a bucket, and Minnesota combined for an impressive 15 assists in the half.

Third Quarter
- Perhaps Augustus got a little bored going 1-for-7 in the first half, so she came out nailing her first two shots of the third quarter for a quick four points.
- As expected, the Shock picked up its collective play after getting out-worked in the first half, but to Minnesota's credit, the Lynx have answered the effort by punching right back (see: keys to the game).
- Anosike came up with another outstanding play at the five-minute mark, stealing the ball near midcourt, holding Katie Smith off her back before finishing a layup with her left hand.
- Detroit took its first lead since the first quarter on two free throws that made it 56-55.
- Sidenote: If I were to sit in a section, it would definitely be "The 'Mone Zone." Section 111. Respect to whoever thought of that. No offense to "Anosike's Army" or "DeForge's Domain."
- Wiggins has some unconventional skills, which was showcased with an entirely unconventional layup. Nice.
- Remember this: 29 players were taken before Charde Houston in the 2008 WNBA Draft. Her 11 points in the first half would have been enough, but seven straight to reclaim the lead over the Shock in the third were something else. So Don Zierden, Roger Griffith and Co., your draft strategy looks like it's working out so far.
- What an end to the quarter for the Lynx ... After Houston's heroics, Candice Wiggins closed the third with a buzzer-beating leaner to give her 14 points, and the Lynx a 68-60 lead. Do some addition, and it's a 13-4 run to close the period. Fierce.

Fourth Quarter
- Another Houston hoop (20 points, seriously?) gave Minnesota its largest lead of the game to open the fourth, 70-60, which was followed by two free throws from Nicole Ohlde to open up a 12-point lead.
- As KFAN's Justin Gaard pointed out to me in press row, Minnesota's really taken advantage of their quickness and athleticism advantage over the older Shock. It's hard to come up with a bigger key in why the Lynx had a 77-64 edge at the 6:02 mark of the final period. Very, very impressive.
- On cue, the Lynx came up with another steal (Augustus) on the baseline, and who else but Seimone nailed a jumper at the other end for her sixth point of the period. That's 14 for Seimone and a 79-64 lead for Minnesota.
- Zierden's going really small right now - Rasmussen's essentially playing the five, with Houston the next biggest player on the court, joined by Wiggins, Quinn and Augustus. Z clearly recognized that Detroit couldn't keep up with his team's athleticism, and has exploited it extremely well today.
- Huge rebound from Anosike. After Noelle Quinn missed a shot, Anosike rose up on the offensive glass to get Minnesota another offensive possession with 1:30 left. Then, she did it again after another Quinn miss, this time drawing the foul before nailing both free throws to ice the game.
- And your final score: Minnesota Lynx (1-0) 84, Detroit Shock (1-1) 70.