Lynx "Storm" back with dramatic win

BY MIKE PEDEN

The 7,312 fans who attended Target Center Sunday night to see the Minnesota Lynx play the Seattle Storm were fairly quiet until the game's conclusion.

The Lynx led through three quarters as they have done many times before this season, leading by as much as 10 on two occasions. Knowing the Lynx's weakness lied in the fourth, many inside the building sensed a "storm" coming from Seattle, the WNBA's top team.

Seattle did fight back, but the Lynx struck down the league's top team 72-71 as the hometown crowd cheered at the buzzer. Seattle's 13-game winning streak and the Lynx's five-game losing streak were both washed away, and Minnesota moved up to fourth place again in the Western Conference, the cut-off spot for qualifying in the playoffs.

"We proved to ourselves that we were capable of winning these games, so we just want to keep it up," said Lynx forward Chardé Houston, who finished with 14 points.

Lynx forward Seimone Augustus was a big reason the outcome tilted in Minnesota's (8-16) favor, scoring a game-high 24 points on 11-of-18 shooting and drawing attention from the Seattle (22-3) defense, giving other Lynx players open looks.

"Swin Cash got in a little foul trouble. It worked to my advantage," Augustus said. "We executed down the stretch. I'm just glad it ended on a defensive possession, that's where you get most of your confidence."

The last two minutes of the fourth revealed the Lynx's unfazed confidence. Alexis Hornbuckle tipped a missed Rebekkah Brunson shot to Lindsay Whalen in traffic to keep possession. Nicky Anosike, who was ill and unable to participate in the Catwalk for a Cure charity event Saturday, capitalized on an open 12-foot jumper from a broken play intended for Seimone Augustus. With the score tied at 71, Anosike drew a foul and made one of two free throws with 5.5 seconds left.

The Storm had plenty of time to respond, but guard Sue Bird missed an open mid-range shot and time expired. Lynx fans may consider the ending karma after Augustus missed a potential game-winning shot in the last meeting between the two teams at Target Center.

"I didn't think I was going to be back in the game. Coach (Cheryl Reeve) told me to go back in. I knew that at any given moment, I'd have to get a rebound or I'd have to spot up. For some reason, the ball came my way twice," Anosike said.

"We tried to keep the ball out of Seimone's hands and they found (Anosike) in the corner," said Bird, who led Seattle with 16 points and 10 assists. "She did a good job by knocking it in. With all that, we still had an opportunity to win."

Turnovers proved key as both teams were virtually even in all other major categories. Minnesota committed 14 turnovers while Seattle threw 18 possessions away, but the Lynx had just two in the final stanza while forcing six Seattle turnovers.

After what seemed an endless barrage of wins for the Storm, the team looked at their defeat as a reality check, knowing their regular season record will become irrelevant once the playoffs begin.

"Sometimes losses can be the biggest win. You have a long winning streak and when you lose, people act like this isn't the toughest league in the world to play in. Tonight showed us some things we need to work on," Bird said.

Minnesota's workload will not get any easier either. They now face the challenge of following up their huge win when Connecticut pays a visit Tuesday, and Los Angeles is only a half-game behind for the West's final playoff spot with the Sparks currently holding the tiebreaker.

"I'm quite sure we're going to face another game like this," Augustus said. "Hopefully we'll bottle a little of this up."

The Lynx can bottle at least two things up from Sunday's victory: Augustus was the second-fastest player in WNBA history to score 2,500 career points while Houston crossed the 1,000 mark.