There has never been any doubt about Maya Moore’s ability, but in case anyone needed a refresher after the long offseason, Moore gave them that and then some. In a primetime Opening Night game on ESPN against the rival Mercury, the 2014 MVP poured in 27 points and dished out a career-high 10 assists before a raucous home crowd at the Target Center. “Our crowd was great,” Moore told WNBA.com. “We haven’t seen them in seven months, so they were longing to see us, and we were longing to see them.”

Earlier in the night, that crowd got to see Moore and company receive their championship rings from last year’s WNBA Finals victory over the Indiana Fever. The Lynx clinched that series in Game 5, winning 69-52, and Saturday they picked up right where they left off.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=leGiuvNFWZU

It was supposed to be a classic matchup, a potential WNBA Finals preview thanks to the new postseason rules. And at first, it looked on track to be just that.

Diana Taurasi immediately made her impact felt in her return, scoring 10 quick points in the first frame, while last year’s Finals MVP, Sylvia Fowles, paced the Lynx, scoring nine of her own. When the first quarter came to a close, the Mercury led, 28-26.

After that first quarter, however, it was all Minnesota. The turnaround started on the defensive end, as the Lynx didn’t allow the potent Mercury offense to score more than 17 points in a quarter the rest of the way. As Moore put it, “We collectively just had to come together and try to make it harder on them. So we just tried to ramp it up defensively, just being active.” From there, she added, “our bench came in, our second team came in, and picked up the pace even more. And it showed. We were able to slow their roll down and gain the momentum back.”

The Lynx outscored the Mercury 26-14 in the second quarter to take a 10-point lead into halftime, and cruised through the second half before finishing with a 95-76 victory. Moore’s 27 points were a game-high, but it was truly a team effort from Minnesota, as Seimone Augustus dropped 21 of her own, Fowles scored 17 points and grabbed 14 rebounds, and Lindsay Whalen chipped in 14 points.

It was a statement game from the Lynx, a championship-caliber performance. The Mercury, bolstered by Taurasi (who finished with 18 points and 6 assists) and fellow returning guard Penny Taylor (13 points), are no doubt an even stronger squad than the one that went to the Western Conference Finals last year. But let there be no doubt: the road to the WNBA championship still runs through Minnesota.

“There are levels that we can get to that are higher than tonight. But it was a good start,” Moore said after the Lynx scored 95 points and forced 21 turnovers on defense. If that’s true, the rest of the league is in for a long season.