Lynx can't afford to let up vs. Stars (Aug 24, 2017)
The Minnesota Lynx are the best team in the WNBA and the San Antonio Stars are the worst.
But as the end of the regular season nears with two teams in hot pursuit of the Lynx for the league's best record, Minnesota cannot afford to rest just yet.
So expect it to keep its collective foot on the accelerator when its visits the Stars on Friday at the AT&T Center.
Minnesota heads to the Alamo City on the heels of a dominating 105-69 victory over Phoenix on Tuesday in which the Lynx (23-6) closed the first half on a 14-3 run to break open a close game.
Minnesota did not allow the Mercury to score a field goal in the final 4 1/2 minutes of the first half as it built a 15-point lead at halftime that was expanded to 75-53 at the end of the third quarter.
Maya Moore scored 21 points, and Sylvia Fowles added 14 points, 10 rebounds and three steals to lead the Lynx, who made 12 of 20 three-pointers, got 45 points from its reserve players and posted its second-highest point total of the season.
But it was Minnesota's defense that made all the difference -- just as it has for most of the season.
"Playing off our defense always gets us going," Moore said. "We're just trusting who we are as a team, and defense is so much of who we are. It's something we're really owning as the season is winding up."
Minnesota coach Cheryl Reeve would like to be able to rest her starters some, but won't even consider that luxury until her team clinches the league's top spot.
"I know there are times when we make it look like it's not that hard to win in this league," Reeve said. "But it's really hard. And we have a mature group that understands every season is filled with ups and downs. We know what we have to do. And we will respond as we always do."
The Stars (7-24) have already been eliminated from the postseason but have been playing their best basketball as the season winds down. San Antonio has a four-game home win streak and heads home after losses to Seattle and most recently, a 75-55 defeat at Los Angeles on Tuesday.
San Antonio has a plethora of talent, but it's taken most of the year to find any kind of continuity.
"We're a very young team," San Antonio coach Vickie Johnson said. "Most people, especially media, they don't give credit to this league. They predict, because you're so good in college, you should be as good in the WNBA. It doesn't work like that. This is the best league in the world."
Alex Montgomery scored 10 of her team-high 12 points in the first half against Los Angeles while Kayla Alexander finished with 11 points for the Stars. San Antonio was 3-of-17 from 3-point range and turned the ball over 18 times versus the Sparks, one of the teams that can still mathematically catch Minnesota.
Since being traded to the Stars in January, Isabelle Harrison has enjoyed a breakout season. She's averaging 11.9 points and 6.5 rebounds as San Antonio's starting center, tying a career-high with a 23-point game against Atlanta in the Stars' last home game Aug. 12.
Minnesota defeated the Stars in the two previous meetings this season -- 80-66 on May 28 and 87-78 on June 25 -- with both played in St. Paul, Minn.
Friday night's contest is the final home game of San Antonio. The Stars are 1-14 on the road and within the Western Conference, and have two road games remaining.
