Whalen's homecoming marred by former Lynx leader

BY MIKE PEDEN

Editors note - pictures from this game are in a slide show following this story.

Less than 24 hours after the Minnesota Lynx opened the 2010 season by defeating the Tulsa Shock on the road, they returned to Target Center to host their home opener Sunday night.

In what Lynx fans were hoping to dub the "Lindsay Whalen Show," the Washington Mystics reminded the sellout crowd of 9,985 that hype does not guarantee victory with a 87-76 win that came without top player Alana Beard.

The Lynx's problems mirrored core issues from last season as they finished the first weekend with a 1-1 split. They started hot by sinking 10 of 18 from the floor in the first quarter and finished cold, making just 33% of their second-half shots.

Mystics guard Katie Smith, once the face of the Lynx during her tenure in Minnesota, was one of the homecoming crashers. She scored 16 points. Although she sank only five of her 14 attempts, she buried key three-pointers late that snuffed out any chance the Lynx had at a comeback.

"We weathered the storm. Monique Currie set the tone and finally, I got something to fall," she said.

Currie scored a game-high 27 points for the Mystics, including a perfect 10-10 from the free throw line. She credited the zone defense in overcoming a 15-point deficit early to start the season 2-0.

"(The Lynx) were killing us with one-on-one defense," she said. "Making them shoot long jumpers, that's not their go-to thing, so that helped us out."

Although Smith was pleased to lead Washington to two straight road wins, upstaging Whalen was not her primary goal as she continues to respect the team that started her WNBA career in 1999.

"You get a chance to be around some people you spent a lot of good time with," she said. "I'm excited for (Whalen) doing her thing for the people who've obviously been following her for a long time."

Foul trouble also squandered the Lynx's chance for a win. Rookie guard Monica Wright fouled out midway through the fourth quarter, finishing with just 5 points after scoring 18 in her previous game against Tulsa.

Combine fouling issues with a roster that was missing essentially three players (Rebekkah Brunson was overseas in Italy and missed both weekend games while Candice Wiggins and Seimone Augustus are still recovering from surgeries), the Lynx had few options to work with when they were struggling.

"We just weren't all on the same page," said forward Chardé Houston, who led the team with 19 points. "We need to lock down our defense a lot better."

Despite the miscues, there were signs that the Lynx could be a fierce competitor as the season progresses.

Whalen, met with thunderous applause from fans when she was announced in the starting lineup, tallied 12 points and a game-high 7 assists in 37 minutes of play.

"She's so focused on all the stuff that we're doing. Usually she's coming over and telling me what she didn't do," said Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve.

Forward Rashanda McCants fed off her overseas surge in the WNBA's first weekend. She scored a career-high 15 points against Tulsa Saturday and topped that mark against Washington with 18 points.

"It capitalizes on all the hard work I did on the off-season. Every game, I'm coming off the bench with a spark," she said.

While the Lynx hope to be in solid playoff contention when they re-integrate Brunson, Wiggins and Augustus, players took a philosophical approach to opening weekend.

"You take away things we learned from the week and continue to get better," Whalen said.

these pictures were taken by Abe Booker III of Stratman Photography