Fever sweat through nail-biter against Lynx

BY MIKE PEDEN

Minnesota Lynx fans and players may consider this weekend a "teaching moment."

Following a 65-55 loss to Seattle on Friday, the Lynx dropped a close game to the Indiana Fever 78-75 at Target Center Sunday as Indiana's perimeter shooting overpowered Minnesota's inside game.

Although the Lynx (5-3) out-rebounded the Fever (6-3) 39-26 and outscored the Fever in the paint 42-22, the Fever countered with 46 percent field goal shooting and 8-of-18 from three-point range. The Lynx were 41 percent from the floor and 3-of-10 from beyond the arc.

"On the offensive end, it's inside-out. (Tamika Catchings) went to the power forward tonight and created a lot of mismatches," said Indiana guard Katie Douglas.

After Minnesota reeled in a 29-18 Indiana lead with a 17-2 run in the second quarter, neither team led by more than seven for the remainder of the game.

Douglas scored a game-high 22 points on 9-of-14 shooting, but a free throw miss following a Maya Moore foul with 18 seconds to go in the fourth left her speechless; the 80 percent career free throw shooter is currently sitting at 67 percent.

Douglas did make the second to give Indiana a 76-73 lead, but they would hold their breath one more time as Douglas fouled Lynx guard Seimone Augustus behind the three-point line on the left corner.

"I knew we had one foul to give, and I was trying to give up the foul," she said.

"Seimone, being the smart player, throws the ball up and they send her to the free throw line," Catchings said.

Augustus missed her first free throw and made her last two, forcing the Lynx to continue playing foul-and-chase.

"After she missed the first one, I was like 'Whew, we got this,' but I was a little nervous," Catchings said.

After Fever reserve Jeanette Pohlen sank two free throws with 5.6 seconds left to push their lead to three, the Lynx had one more chance, but Lindsay Whalen's three-point attempt from the top of the key was wide left as the buzzer sounded.

Catchings added 17 points, playing a pivotal role in the fourth to secure the victory.

Moore tied her career high in scoring with 21 points for Minnesota, but only four came in the second half as foul trouble limited her production. Whalen and Augustus scored 12 and 10 respectively, but the two combined to make just nine of their 28 shot attempts.

"We have to be the mentally tougher team for longer stretches. It's going to take efforts like Jessica Adair did," Moore said.

While back-to-back losses could cause Lynx fans to panic after seeing them squander hot starts in 2008 and 2009, second-year center Adair highlighted the deeper bench opposing teams have raved about when facing the Lynx. Adair proved highly effective in the 8:17 of floor time she played with seven points and six rebounds, five of them offensive.

In fact, Adair scooped one more offensive rebound than rebounding specialist Rebekkah Brunson, despite playing less than a quarter of Brunson's total minutes.

"Rebekkah's arguably the best post player in the league and Taj (McWilliams-Franklin) has been around forever. If I weren't here picking up little things from them, I'd be a fool," Adair said.

Catchings believes Minnesota's bench will make them one of the best teams in the league as the season continues.

"They're a threat at every single position," she said.

Lynx's new pack members attract record crowd

BY MIKE PEDEN

2,055 people watched the Minnesota Lynx roster play under official game conditions for the first time in 2011 Tuesday, when they hosted the Indiana Fever in preseason play.

If the game took place at Target Center, those fans would fill just over 10 percent of the building's total capacity. At Concordia University's Gangelhoff Center in St. Paul, where the game was held, that number stood for the first preseason sellout in Lynx history. Although results do not count for the season, the Lynx suffered no omens in their 71-66 win against the Fever.

To be sure, the addition of Maya Moore in this year's draft generated buzz not seen since the Lynx entered the WNBA in 1999. Lynx front office members also took on a long outreach campaign to attract kids from neighborhood schools for the noon game. Those students comprised about half of the crowd in attendance.

While courting the young meant decibel levels matched the Lynx's annual Kids Day promotion throughout the game, the Lynx's outreach strategy paid off in an unexpected way when audio equipment problems at the scorer's table prevented a scheduled vocalist from performing the National Anthem. After a few minutes of murmurs and wonders, Fever players performed the song a cappella, and fans young and old quickly joined in.

School kids showed their gratitude to the Fever's gesture as most cheered when Tangela Smith sank the game's first basket, a 22-foot three-pointer.

Those kids quickly reverted to the hometown team, as head coach Cheryl Reeve played everybody on her training camp roster except Alexis Hornbuckle, whose strained hamstring kept her in street clothes.

Although Moore has been hailed as Minnesota's next star since she was drafted, fellow first-round pick Amber Harris showcased the team's revamped post players. The Xavier alum finished with a double-double, netting 10 points and 10 rebounds, showing the versatility that landed her on Lynx radar since last year.

Moore was more sluggish, scoring just four points on two-of-eight shooting, but she did get five rebounds and three assists. She also got a visitor's "welcome to the WNBA" greeting, when Fever forward Tamika Catchings juked Moore one-on-one for a lay-up early in the first quarter.

With a full training camp roster, the preseason game served an effective audition for players considered "on the bubble" to make the final cut of 11 players for the regular season. One predicted battle is the backup center slot between Quanitra Hollingsworth and Jessica Adair. Hollingsworth had one rebound and one assist in 7:23 of floor time, while Adair was limited to 4:37 after racking up four quick fouls, but she scored two points on free throws and scooped one rebound.

Guard Kachine Alexander, a former Iowa Hawkeye who attended high school at Benilde-St. Margaret's, banked a 20-foot jump shot for her only basket of the game. She added two steals in her 7:13 of playing time.

The best performance came from St. Paul native Angel Robinson, who first made local headlines in high school when she led an undefeated St. Paul Central team to the class AAAA state championship in 2007. Robinson finished with four points, two rebounds, two assists and one steal in 13:22.

The Lynx have one more preseason tune-up at Indiana next Tuesday before they decide who stays and who goes.

Click this link to listen to interviews with Minnesota's Seimone Augustus, Rebekkah Brunson and Angel Robinson and Indiana's Katie Douglas.