Lynx Strike Back - Libs lose

Can't seem to get too far above .500, can we?

LYNX 91, LIBERTY 69

Just in case anybody got too excited after that 100-point showing on Sunday came this little surprise and a half, with Minnesota thoroughly dominating the visiting Liberty in every quarter save the 2nd. And even then, the Libs came up short.


Had to do it.
It started off rotten with the Lynx going big 28-14 in the first 10. Seimone Augustus (who would finish 8-14, 21 pts, 9 asst.) led the Lynx in a big way, coming up with nine points and three assists in that span, with Nicole Ohlde (7-8, 14 pt) scoring 6 of her own. The Libs, meanwhile, finished off the last four minutes and a half minutes of the third without any points in the field, while turning the ball over with bad passes and poor shooting throughout.

Ashley Battle wouldn't go down without a fight, however. She scored eight points in the 2nd quarter, finishing off with a jump shot to push the Libs to within 8, 45-37. Had it not been for her, however, things would have been a LOT worse. Sure, Shameka Christon had another great night (20 points, 6-10, 5-7 from the line), but she also fouled out. To be fair, the game was over at that point, but still.


COME ON!
Essence Carson also has a lot to answer for. 0-6 from the field. 3 turnovers. 5 fouls. I expect better, especially with 18 minutes of playing time. Would Coyle play her other guards, though? Nope, not even with Leilani Mitchell scoring 5 in 8 minutes of play (albeit with two horrendously bad passes), or with Lisa Willis coming off of a hot game. True, this wasn't like the depths of Coyle's tunnel vision from last season, but neither would she remove a floundering starter, like McCarville (4 points, but 7 rebounds), until it was too late.

The third quarter showed more of the same, with Battle and Moore playing the "Which One of Us is the Only Lib on the Court" Game, mixed in with the sounds of airballs sailing through the Minnesota night. Even still, with 10 minutes left to play, the Libs were only down 65-56, being tough but not overwhelmingly insurmountable.

Of course, I would like to say that the Libs never let up. I would like to say that the starters hoisted the team on their shoulders after a horrific first thirty minutes. And I would like to say that Martina Weber called me up the other night and told me that her absence from the WNBA is due to her being unable to think about anything but me.


But that would all be a lie.
And so, the Liberty stumbled out and found themselves lacking. The Lynx put 26 points on the board and nailed the coffin shut, the Liberty whistling dixie all the way. They turned the ball over five more times while Battle clawed her way to 17 points amidst a sea of crap. Props to the few Libs who showed up and kept playing until the final whistle. A big hunk of poop to those who decided that this Tuesday should have been a national holiday.

GAME NOTES

• 50% from beyond the arc for the Libs. But only 37.3 from the field overall.
  
• 19 turnovers for the Libs. That considerably helped put the Lynx set the table.
  
• Of course, the Lynx also passed the ball around a lot, too (24 assists), finding the chinks in the Liberty's armor like they had a metal detector.
  
• Three starters for the Lynx scored over 12 points. Only one Lib starter scored more than 7.
  

Ugh, that game puts a sour taste in my mouth. Next tilt?

Indiana Fever @ New York Liberty
8 P.M.
Special Food Item for the night: $2 Beans
Musical Review to Follow
I have a comedy show the next night, so I will probably be rehearsing, but the rest of you should be out there. We need to shore up those numbers something bad. I guess cutting off all those $10 seats didn't really help much, huh?


Assholes.

AROUND THE LEAGUE...

...to come later in the day. I'm tired.

See ya, Space Cowboy...