Before tip, we looked at three keys that would determine who took Game 2 of the WNBA Finals. Now that the game is over, and the Lynx came away with a 79-60 victory to even the series at 1-1, let’s look back at the three keys and how they influenced the game.

Winning The First Quarter

In the first four meetings between these clubs, the team who won the first quarter also won the game. As it turned out, that trend continued in Game 2 Tuesday night. The Lynx jumped out to an 18-14 lead after the first 10 minutes, which helped put them on track for their series-tying victory.

Following the game, Sylvia Fowles, who grabbed an offensive rebound and found Lindsay Whalen for the Lynx’s first bucket, had the following to say about how the Lynx started the game: “We came out with great intensity… We set the tone and the pace for the game.”

With tonight’s game making it five-straight contests in which the winner of the first quarter has gone on to win the game, both teams should be raring and ready to go from the jump for Game 3 Friday night.

Getting Maya Moore And Sylvia Fowles Involved Early

One problem for the Lynx in Game 1, was that Maya Moore was held scoreless in the first half, scoring all 18 of her points in the second half. Sylvia Fowles was more involved in the first 20 minutes, but still only had 8 points at the half.

That was why ESPN’s LaChina Robinson thought we would see “more intentional offense” tonight from Minnesota. Robinson’s words would prove to be wise, as Minnesota ran Moore off a Fowles screen to get the ball on their very first possession, which led to Moore dumping the ball down to Fowles on the block. Neither of them scored on that trip, but it showed they were focused on getting the two stars involved early.

And both certainly were, as Moore finished the first half with 12 points, four rebounds, and two assists, while Fowles had four points, six rebounds, and three assists. Thanks to the strong play from those two, Minnesota lead by 14 at the half, as opposed to a two-point edge at the same point in Game 1.

Battle Of The Benches

In Game 1, it was L.A.’s two-woman bench of Jantel Lavender and Chelsea Gray who flipped the script and outplayed the vaunted Lynx reserves, outscoring them 20-8 on the way to the Sparks’ win.

Tuesday night, however, the Lynx’s bench mob set things right. Though they didn’t set the world on fire in the scoring department, Minnesota’s reserves played their usual solid defense and still managed to outscore Los Angeles’ bench by a margin of 14-11. That was a 15-point turnaround as compared to Game 1, in a game the Lynx won by
19.

Janel McCarville, in particular, was influential, as she came off the bench late in the first quarter to sink two straight jumpers in a 30-second span.