Tag Archives: Minnesota Lynx

WNBA Today, 09/11/2013: Playoff contenders finalised as Mystics make it in; Mercury and Lynx wins cement West seeding

 

While they largely confirmed things that had become inevitable, the combination of last night’s three WNBA results cemented several elements of the upcoming playoffs. We now know exactly what’s coming in the Western Conference, and there’s only one unknown holding up the East. We might see a lot of players grabbing some rest over the next few days.

 

Washington Mystics 69 @ Indiana Fever 67

  • Washington came into this game still needing a win to confirm their playoff participation. Undoubtedly Mike Thibault and his squad were as aware as anyone that New York were incredibly unlikely to run the table and make them require that win, but earning your way into the postseason with a victory would feel much sweeter than waiting for the Liberty to lose. Sitting just one game ahead of the Mystics prior to this game, Indiana could claim at least the #3 seed with a win, but would drop into a tie with Washington if they lost. Their outstanding record against Chicago makes you wonder if they might not prefer the #4, but playing well and winning games heading into the playoffs was clearly worth more to them than trying to finagle the matchups. Otherwise Tamika Catchings would’ve taken the night off, and Erin Phillips wouldn’t have returned so quickly from her eye injury. They were still without Katie Douglas, however, despite reports that she was virtually ready to return.

 

  • There’s one important element to the Douglas situation that seems to have gone largely overlooked. Remember way back at the start of the season when Indiana were allowed to keep 12 players due to injuries, without ever seeming to establish who the ‘exception’ 12th was? Well at some point, it became clear that the 12th player was Jessica Breland. Unfortunately, the Fever appear to have painted themselves into a corner. Breland has become their only viable backup post behind Catchings and Erlana Larkins, with Jessica Davenport injured and Jasmine Hassell barely ever used. But their roster’s healthy enough now that when (and if) Douglas returns, Breland would have to be immediately released because the ‘hardship exception’ would no longer apply. So while Douglas has been their second-best player for several years, having her back for the postseason would mean going into the postseason with only Hassell to spell Catchings and Larkins (or Karima Christmas sliding over in an incredibly small lineup, in a role she hasn’t played all season). It’s an unfortunate Catch 22. Chicago avoided something similar by waiving Avery Warley 10 days ago, giving them time to cut someone else and re-sign her for the playoffs. Maybe Indiana should’ve done the same, but it’s too late now (there’s a 10-day waiting period between cutting someone and being able to re-sign them, and there are now fewer than 10 days left in the season). Keeping Breland may have become more important to Indiana than adding a likely half-fit Douglas to the playoff roster.

 

  • But back to last night’s game. Washington started well, looking for Kia Vaughn inside to use her height advantage on the Indiana posts, and penetrating far too often for Indiana head coach Lin Dunn’s liking. The Mystics get themselves into trouble sometimes by settling for jump shots, especially when there’s minimal ball movement before they just fire away. This was better than we’d seen in several recent performances.

 

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WNBA Today, 09/08/2013: Fever fight their way in, while Lynx continue to overwhelm Storm

 

The difficulties and complications of WNBA.com’s LiveAccess service over the weekend have made the contents of my articles a little confusing, so here’s what you can find below: details on Saturday’s games, plus bonus coverage of Friday night’s Indiana-Chicago matchup. Just to keep things chronological, we’ll start with that game, in the hope that some people are still interested in hearing about it, then roll into yesterday’s basketball. Coverage of Sunday’s games, including one particularly noteworthy explosion in an otherwise meaningless game, will be in tomorrow’s article as normal. On to the Bullet Point Breakdowns.

 

Indiana Fever 82 @ Chicago Sky 77

  • Indiana went into this game with work still to do in order to confirm their playoff spot. New York were in the process of losing yet another game, but they were still within range of catching the Fever. Chicago secured the #1 seed in the East the previous weekend, but were still playing for home-court advantage in a potential Finals matchup with Minnesota or Los Angeles, and trying to keep their momentum rolling into the playoffs. There was also a strong possibility that Indiana could be Chicago’s first-round playoff opponent, and the Fever have beaten up on the Sky with such regularity over the years that Chicago were looking for a win for mental reasons more than anything else.

 

  • Unfortunately for the Sky, point guard Courtney Vandersloot turned an ankle in warmups, and was held out of the game for precautionary reasons. It was absolutely the right decision, however minor the injury, considering the lack of real meaning to this game for Chicago – but it was still a disappointment to face the Fever without an important starter. Epiphanny Prince slid over to play the point, with Tamera Young coming into the starting lineup. They also had backup point guard Sharnee Zoll-Norman available for the first time in weeks, after recovering from her broken thumb. Indiana were still without Katie Douglas, and guard Erin Phillips was missing as well after being poked in the eye during their game against Atlanta a couple of nights earlier.

 

  • We’d only seen the marquee frontcourt matchup between Elena Delle Donne and Tamika Catchings once before this season – they’d missed one game each due to injury on the other occasions their teams clashed. As with the previous encounter, Catchings was nominally guarding Delle Donne at times, but Indiana’s defense was so fluid and switching so easily that the matchups were far from consistent. Delle Donne certainly wasn’t afraid of Catchings or her defensive reputation when she was lined up against the veteran star, attacking her off the dribble several times in the early going and having some success. She also set screens on Briann January multiple times, trying to force the switch and the resulting mismatch, and converted easily right over the top of January on more than one occasion.

 

  • However, while Delle Donne produced some points early on, and Sylvia Fowles was a presence in the paint at both ends of the floor, Indiana stayed right with Chicago and ultimately pulled out into a lead late in the first half. There’s one particular, incredibly basic way that Indiana use to create good looks against the Sky, and I’ve talked about it before. I call it ‘semi-penetration’, because the primary objective is rarely to get right to the rim or even deep into the paint. If a lane happens to open up, the driving Fever player will happily take it and carry on to the basket, but that’s not what usually happens. One player drives from the top of the arc – usually Tamika Catchings but several other Fever players do it as well – only aiming to get a step or two below the free throw line, and not really needing to beat her defender. The target is merely to entice the defender in the strong side corner to take a step or two towards the paint to offer help. Then the driver makes the easy kick-out to her teammate in the corner (or on the wing, both work) for a three she’s been given the room to shoot. It’s incredibly simple, but the help-defense principles drilled into defenses like Chicago’s always make that defender in the corner want to slide in and help. Briann January and Shavonte Zellous got into a rhythm hitting threes in the first half, and it helped carry Indiana’s offense even while Catchings couldn’t hit anything. The Fever led 44-34 at halftime.

 

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WNBA Today, 09/05/2013: Lynx and Dream battle to important victories over conference rivals

 

Two games in the WNBA last night, both with significant playoff implications. While the eight teams who’ll be participating in the postseason have become relatively clear, only Chicago as the #1 seed in the East have already settled into a particular spot. The final two weeks of the season could still have a heavy influence on positioning, matchups, and home-court advantage in the playoffs. Everyone’s still battling to finish as high as they can.

 

We’ll start in the West, because the clash between Minnesota and Los Angeles had been a long time coming. These two have broken clear as the top teams in the conference as the season’s worn on, but the three previous times they faced each other this year took place so early in the season that they feel like distant memories. LA came out 2-1 up in those games, with all three resulting in blowout wins for the home team. But the important numbers heading into last night had little to do with those encounters. The Lynx were 1.5 games ahead of the Sparks at the top of the West with five games left on Minnesota’s schedule (just four for LA). The Sparks were probably going to have to win both this game and their final regular season meeting with the Lynx back in LA next Thursday to sneak up into the #1 seed. A split would still give them a chance, but would leave them relying on Seattle beating Minnesota in their upcoming double-header. It was a definite longshot unless LA did the work themselves.

 

Fortunately for all neutrals, both teams were healthy and had everyone available, so the starting units were the same groups we’ve grown accustomed to over the season. It was Minnesota who got off to the fast start with the home crowd behind them. They were pushing the ball quickly down the floor to create early offense, and already looking to those dive-in post-ups they’ve been working on with Seimone Augustus and Maya Moore since midway through the season. You may remember me mentioning in prior articles that the matchup with LA was one prime reason that this has clearly become a focus of the staff in Minnesota. With a perimeter of Lindsey Harding, Kristi Toliver and Alana Beard, somebody on that group is going to be noticeably undersized against the Lynx wing she’s trying to guard. With Toliver on Lindsay Whalen and Beard trying to handle Moore, usually it’s Harding struggling to deal with Augustus. From the opening possessions, Augustus was deep in the paint exploiting her size advantage over Harding. Barring injury, a significant coaching move or an upset in the first round, we’ll be seeing plenty of that in the Western Conference Finals, as well.

 

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WNBA Today, 09/01/2013: Favourites all take care of business as playoff picture continues to clear

 

Four games on Saturday night in the WNBA, all four won in varying degrees of comfort by the favourites. So the playoff picture is continuing to resolve itself – mostly by default because we’re running out of games – but there weren’t exactly a lot of shocks to go around. With two weeks to go in the regular season, if you can’t make a pretty good guess at what’s coming by now, you haven’t been paying attention.

 

Los Angeles Sparks 80 @ San Antonio Silver Stars 67

  • At stake in this one: Los Angeles continue to chase Minnesota for the #1 seed in the West, coming into the day one game back. As a sideline, Chicago are right up with the pair of them for home-court advantage in a theoretical WNBA Finals. San Antonio were still in with a mathematical chance of chasing down Phoenix or Seattle for a playoff spot, albeit a very small chance. Bizarrely enough, a Silver Stars loss in this game would confirm Seattle’s place in the postseason, while Phoenix would still be catchable – despite Seattle sitting in fourth while Phoenix were in third. Schedules, tie-breakers and mathematics can be strange bedfellows.

 

  • LA had their usual starting lineup, and their roster as healthy as ever, but San Antonio began the game with yet another new starting unit. Danielle Robinson was still out with strained/sprained knee (the team have used both words to describe it), and now her replacement Davellyn Whyte was missing as well (reportedly with a foot problem). That shifted Shenise Johnson over alongside Jia Perkins in the backcourt, with Shameka Christon coming in to start on the wing. It’s a perimeter that had some success in their win over Tulsa the night before, but obviously their bench became even shorter.

 

  • While LA led by as many as 11, it was ultimately a fairly tight first half. The Sparks were looking to push whenever they could, but becoming a little ponderous and static when forced into halfcourt sets. San Antonio started slowly but came back into the game late in the first quarter through better defensive energy and Jia Perkins making plays on offense. Dan Hughes would love to have Perkins as his sixth woman energy from the bench, but the injuries have forced her into a much bigger role this season. She’s not always the most efficient scorer, but sometimes she can be electric.

 

  • The other place where San Antonio found success in the first half was on the offensive glass. With Candace Parker and Nneka Ogwumike, LA have a clear athleticism advantage in this matchup over players like Danielle Adams, Jayne Appel and Cathrine Kraayeveld. While Parker was doing her typical job of filling the stat-sheet in a number of areas, the Sparks were getting outworked on the glass and the Silver Stars were staying alive with second-chance opportunities. They took 11 more shots than LA in the first half, thanks to a 10-2 advantage in offensive rebounds, and it allowed the Silver Stars to trail only 35-30 at halftime.

 

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WNBA Today, 08/28/2013: Storm squeak past Silver Stars to reach brink of postseason; Western elite beats Eastern also-rans

 

We’re starting to hit that point in the season. Where everyone knows which teams are good, and which teams are on the brink of giving up on the year as a dead loss. So last night’s three WNBA games saw two very predictable results that maintained the status quo, and just one tight, interesting contest. We’ll be starting with that one, obviously.

 

Seattle Storm 72 @ San Antonio Silver Stars 71

  • This was another of those double-features the WNBA has introduced this season, where teams play twice in the same city within barely 48 hours. So everyone had fresh memories of the dreadful game on Sunday where Seattle barely showed up and got what they deserved. After the Storm lost that game, this one became very important. It tied the season-series between the teams at 2-2, and pulled San Antonio within three games of the Storm in the standings. Another win for San Antonio would both narrow the gap to two, and secure the head-to-head tie-breaker over Seattle. The squads were identical, both sides starting the same units as point guard Danielle Robinson continues to miss out for San Antonio with her strained knee.

 

  • Robinson’s replacement Davellyn Whyte was firing and hitting from outside early on. That’s the one advantage Whyte gives you over D-Rob – she’s not afraid to fire away from deep, and occasionally she’ll get hot. Robinson rarely lets fly from further than 18-feet.

 

  • As has often been the case this year, Seattle started slowly. Brian Agler called his usual early timeout – it’s virtually a tradition at this point – and they pulled themselves out of it with the help of Tina Thompson. From there, the entire first half stayed very tight. Thompson was the leading light for Seattle, hitting little hooks and fadeaways inside or popping out beyond the arc for her trademark deep threes. It gave the Storm a presence and a primary option that they never really found on Sunday in the previous game, and their energy on the glass was important as well.

 

  • Between Whyte, Jia Perkins and Danielle Adams, San Antonio were hitting enough shots to keep pace. Even with a 19-7 deficit on the boards, they had the game tied at 31-31 at halftime.

 

  • The second half was a different experience. The game became more frantic and helter-skelter at times, with one key move from San Antonio head coach Dan Hughes having a big effect on the game. In an effort to handle Thompson and track her movement better, the Silver Stars began to treat her as a small forward. Instead of trying to guard her with Danielle Adams, who had to chase Thompson around screens and try to follow her out when she popped beyond the arc, they gave Shenise Johnson and Shameka Christon the assignment. That left Adams on either Shekinna Stricklen or Noelle Quinn. Obviously it was a risk to some extent. Adams is relatively light on her feet, but she’s not used to guarding perimeter players. And Thompson is still capable of posting up, so Hughes was trusting Johnson and Christon to be able to handle that. To a large extent it worked for San Antonio, as Thompson definitely cooled off in the second half.

 

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WNBA Today, 08/25/2013: McCoughtry hosts a brick party and everyone’s invited, while Moore leads Lynx past Fever

 

We had a pair of contests in the WNBA last night, and there was a striking contrast between the two. In one, the offenses were flowing, shots were falling, and both teams finished with offensive efficiency numbers well above the best averages in the league. The other game featured an excruciating pile-up of turnovers, missed shots, and floundering offense. You can probably guess which game we’re going to look at first.

 

Over the course of the season, venue hasn’t made that much difference to the Indiana Fever. Coming into last night’s game they were 7-7 at home, and 5-7 on their travels. But recently they’ve looked much more comfortable with the Bankers Life Fieldhouse crowd behind them. A winless three-game Western swing had been broken up with a quick trip home to beat San Antonio, but now they were back out on the road in Minnesota, beginning another four-game road trip. From the way they’ve played since midseason you’d think Indiana would be relatively secure in playoff position, but they were still only a couple of games up on New York before last night. Another run of Fever losses and even the Liberty might scrape together enough wins to make things awkward by the end of the season.

 

Indiana also had the problem of yet another injury, with guard Erin Phillips sidelined again due to her right knee. She looked like she’d finally shaken off the lingering problems from preseason surgery on a meniscus tear, before her leg went out from under her after jumping for a rebound in their last game. She didn’t even make the trip. Minnesota had everyone available once again (although considering Cheryl Reeve’s typical rotation, it wouldn’t matter much if players on the end of the bench stayed home).

 

With the breakdown of the halfcourt camera it was hard to see the action clearly in the first half, but several aspects of the play were clear throughout the evening. The contrast in defensive philosophy is interesting between these teams. Indiana, even more than ever, were switching constantly on screens. They’ll stick when they can, but at any tiny hint that a player is being held up on a pick, they’ll just switch it. That basically meant Minnesota could create any matchup they wanted without a great deal of effort, and obviously led to mismatches. It also leads to occasional complete defensive breakdowns when one player switches and the other doesn’t react at the exact same moment. Indiana are very good at swarming and helping, and they’ve got lots of practice at switching and rotating, but it’s hard to do perfectly. Minnesota make much more strenuous efforts to stick with their assignments, despite having the size on the perimeter to play like Indiana if they wanted to. They’ll switch guard-to-guard or post-to-post when it’s obvious, but they expect their players to fight through or around screens much more consistently. Both approaches can be equally viable, but it made for an intriguing contrast.

 

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WNBA Today, 08/23/2013: WNBA’s best beats worst in surprise to no one; plus Friday picks and previews

 

Last night’s sole WNBA game saw one of the least surprising results of the season. Despite losing four of their previous five games, Minnesota arrived in Connecticut still in possession of the WNBA’s best record at 18-7. Their recent slip-ups have allowed Chicago and Los Angeles to creep closer, but the fact that they were still top of the pile illustrated how dominant they’ve been for most of the season. At 7-17, the Sun were rock bottom of both the East and the WNBA as a whole, as a disastrous season finally starts to crawl to a close. It started with Asjha Jones deciding to take the whole season off and Danielle McCray blowing out her achilles. More injuries, underperformance, and the general unrest created by dumping head coach Mike Thibault and replacing him with Anne Donovan has continued a downward trend. With 10 games left they were still only 3.5 outside the playoffs heading into last night, but everyone involved with the Sun organisation would like the season to end as quickly as possible.

 

Allison Hightower (knee) and Kelly Faris (foot) were shut down for the remainder of the season earlier this week, and Kara Lawson wasn’t fit enough to suit up after recently returning to the Sun following compassionate leave to be with her ill father. That left Renee Montgomery and Tan White starting in the backcourt again, with Kalana Greene regaining her starting spot on the wing by default. They were down to eight bodies in total. After a few minor injuries had contributed to their recent losses, Minnesota had all 11 players available.

 

Arguably the high point of the game for Connecticut came on the opening possession. Tina Charles went right by Janel McCarville and finished for what would be the Sun’s only lead of the game at 2-0. Plays like that are what worry you about McCarville in the middle of Minnesota’s defense. She’s got great hands and decent instincts, but her quickness to stick with the more mobile posts in the league is dubious. If she was taller it would be less of an issue because she’d be more of a presence inside, but she isn’t that big either. The positive in the early stages of this game was that McCarville offered something offensively. She hit a deep jumper moments after that Charles basket, then jumped a passing lane for a steal and a breakaway layup. Later in the period she even nailed her second three-pointer of the season after Charles left her alone beyond the arc. If she can at least be some kind of threat on offense, she’ll force defenses to pay some kind of attention to her. One player that can be virtually ignored – at either end of the floor – becomes a much bigger issue in the playoffs when opponents spend days gameplanning for a specific opponent. The Lynx have to get something from their center spot.

 

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WNBA Today, 08/21/2013: Western leaders lose, Eastern leaders win, and Shock fall to Mercury yet again

 

It was a busy Tuesday in the WNBA this week, with four games competing for our attention last night. As always, all of them are covered for you right here. On to the Bullet Point Breakdowns.

 

Minnesota Lynx 75 @ Atlanta Dream 88

  • Having ended their surprising three-game losing skid with a comfortable win over New York on Sunday, the Lynx came in looking to build another winning streak against the team they swept in the 2011 WNBA Finals. In fact, the Dream hadn’t beaten Minnesota since 2010, back before Maya Moore turned pro. However, after two consecutive wins Atlanta looked like they might’ve found some form, ending a horrible streak of eight losses in nine games. Plus, they came in with a 10-1 record at home this season, the best in the WNBA.

 

  • Minnesota had Monica Wright available again after she missed a game due to a bruised quad. Le’coe Willingham continued to deputise for the injured Sancho Lyttle for Atlanta.

 

  • The Dream got off to the much quicker start in this game, and although Minnesota briefly came back into it as the first quarter continued, Atlanta dominated most of the first half. Early on it was Lynx turnovers and Dream offensive boards that were leading to Atlanta’s edge, with Erika de Souza making the most of her size advantage in the paint. As the half progressed, it was the active hands and constant energy of the Dream defense which kept Atlanta on top.

 

  • As always, Angel McCoughtry was a major part of the Dream’s success, but she had help. First from Erika, then from Tiffany Hayes, who continued her impressive recent form. Hayes brings such energy and hustle to the team at both ends of the floor, and even if her shooting can be streaky (and she shoots her threes from somewhere down around her knees) she gives Atlanta another legitimate threat from the perimeter. Fred Williams also seems to have decided – partly because of how good Hayes has been – that the small lineup with McCoughtry sliding to power forward has become his ‘first-change’ option. He’s gone to it in the first quarter of both their last two games and used it for long stretches, with Aneika Henry used purely as Erika’s backup at center. It keeps their energy constantly high, because that small group know they have to work their butts off to move and help each other due to their lack of pure size.

 

  • Williams also smartly switched up his rotation a little in this game. Leading 20-17 at the end of the first quarter but on top, he left McCoughtry in rather than benching her for her typical rest at the start of the second quarter. The Dream have suffered ugly lulls in that period in many recent games, but instead they kept their momentum rolling, built a lead, and McCoughtry still got some rest later in the half anyway. Williams recognised that they couldn’t afford the lull against Minnesota, and navigated around it nicely for once.

 

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WNBA Today, 08/20/2013: Home wins come easy, medium and hard, while Laimbeer crosses the line

 

Sunday saw three WNBA games, and ultimately three double-digit home victories. But each was achieved in a very different way, and we even had a little bit of controversy to spice things up as well. Bullet Point Breakdowns follow.

 

Washington Mystics 58 @ Atlanta Dream 76

  • This was a battle between two teams hoping to cement signs of an upturn in form. After playing some poor basketball to lose six out of seven and slide back into the pack in the East, Washington had run off three straight wins – starting with a shocking upset win in Minnesota. Meanwhile, Atlanta had lost eight of nine before destroying Connecticut on Friday night, which they were obviously hoping could begin their own new streak. The Dream came in with oddly competing statistics – they hadn’t beaten anyone besides the Sun since June, and beating Connecticut this season barely counts; but so many of their recent games have been on the road, they still held the best home record in the WNBA. At 9-1 at Philips Arena coming into this game, they had every right to be confident on their own floor, despite all those losses elsewhere.

 

  • In a frantic, end-to-end opening quarter, it was Washington who got off to the better start. They were pushing the ball hard, looking for quick offense, and attacking Angel McCoughtry off the dribble. It was hard to tell whether Angel was meant to be guarding Matee Ajavon or Monique Currie – McCoughtry seemed to pick up whoever she felt like on any given possession, assuming she made it back down the floor in time to guard anyone. But early on, Washington were both breaking down Atlanta’s defense, and hitting their open shots from outside.

 

  • McCoughtry was still getting plenty back at the other end, attacking and getting to the rim as usual. Dream head coach Fred Williams also showed a willingness to try the small lineup with McCoughtry at the 4 earlier than usual, which was a positive. It’s rarely come into play in the first quarter this season.

 

  • Atlanta just about survived the early second quarter minutes where McCoughtry rests – it’s been a struggle to avoid collapsing in that period lately – and then made a push when she came back. They had positive moments both with Le’coe Willingham at power forward – a much more reliable option to guard Crystal Langhorne than McCoughtry – and with the quicker, more aggressive small lineup. By halftime, while it felt like Washington had been on top for much of the first half, the Dream were in front 38-37.

 

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WNBA Today, 08/17/2013: Western summit continues to tighten; Eastern picture remains muddied

 

Four games last night in the WNBA. We had a couple of upsets – one minor, one huge. And a couple of home wins – one comfortable, one blowout. Let’s go to the Bullet Point Breakdowns to take a look.

 

Washington Mystics 66 @ New York Liberty 57

  • New York came into this one just half-a-game behind the Mystics for the final playoff spot in the East. Having beaten Washington twice in recent weeks, a win for the Liberty also would’ve sealed the season-series tiebreaker should these teams end up level at the end of the season. The Mystics came in having beaten the best and the worst the WNBA has to offer in their last two games, Minnesota and Connecticut. Now they had to take on an opponent from somewhere in the middle.

 

  • The lineups were the same as usual for these teams, although New York had veteran forward DeLisha Milton-Jones in uniform for the first time after claiming her off waivers from San Antonio.

 

  • The first half was ultimately very even. Washington built a small lead early with their starters, thanks to the fact that they have more players who can shoot than New York. Cappie Pondexter was utterly invisible in the first quarter. As has been something of a theme lately, the Mystics lost their way a little when their bench players came in, and New York slid back into it largely due to Washington’s offensive futility. Then the rest of the half played out with Pondexter actually making a couple of shots, while Plenette Pierson and Crystal Langhorne entertainingly went to war down low.

 

  • The third quarter was even more forgettable than the first half. Desperately scrappy basketball, too many turnovers, defense dominating and not a lot of points being scored. A 34-33 New York lead at halftime became a 45-44 Washington lead after three periods.

 

  • It didn’t take long in the fourth quarter for the victor to become clear. Matee Ajavon, Kia Vaughn and Tierra Ruffin-Pratt all nailed jumpers in the opening moments, turning a one-point lead into an eight-point gap. In a game where points had been at a premium all night, that felt like a chasm. Defensive decisions and defense in general had become rather too easy for the Mystics. Pondexter couldn’t hit a shot to save her life in the second half, and New York don’t have many other players who can shoot (especially considering Bill Laimbeer’s continuing reluctance to play Leilani Mitchell). So the defense increasingly collapsed into the paint, and made it harder and harder for New York to force the ball inside. So they spent the fourth quarter either being swamped in the paint when they continued to try to get there, or watching Pondexter brick jumpers.

 

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