If you thought the Minnesota Lynx were dead in the water after losing star Seimone Augustus to a torn ACL, think again. The Atlanta Dream got to see the surprising Lynx up close in a 91-85 loss at Philips Arena in a game that was far more lopsided than the final score indicated. A balanced attack and dominant offense keyed the Lynx, who finished the game shooting 13-of-26 from beyond the arc and 48 percent from the field.
“We took the shots and shot them with confidence,” said Minnesota head coach Jennifer Gillom. “And once they stop the outside, which they planned to do because they knew we were shooting well, we move to the inside. It’s hard to defend.”
Both teams lit up the scoreboard in the first half, and Minnesota made a late push behind guard Candice Wiggins to snatch a 58-50 lead at the half.
But the Lynx kicked their defense up a notch in the third and stayed hot from the field to all but finish Atlanta. The visitors started the quarter on a 24-4 run behind more good guard play.
Wiggins came out firing again in the second half, scoring five quick points. Then Roneeka Hodges joined the party, hitting consecutive 3-pointers to stretch the lead to 64-50 early in the third. The Lynx would lead by as much as 20 in the quarter.
Meanwhile, the Dream were ice cold, shooting 4-of-14 from the field and turning the ball over five times in the quarter.
But Atlanta didn’t quit. Meadors’s team made the switch to a zone defense, and managed to silence the Lynx on offense in the latter half of the stanza. Two free throws from Michelle Snow drew Atlanta within 74-65 after three.
“I thought we played really good in that third quarter in that span where we were in that zone defense,” head coach Marynell Meadors said. “Then we let down again and they started making some 3’s.
Marques got things started for the Dream in the fourth quarter, hitting a trey to draw them within 76-67 to raise her point total to 31.
But Atlanta wouldn’t threaten again.
Hodges continued to impress from outside the arc, hitting two more big 3-pointers in just over a minute, and Nicky Anosike continued the onslaught with a triple of her own to extend the deficit to 91-70 with 5:15 remaining.
Atlanta closed out the game on a 9-0 run to make the final score respectable, but it was too little, too late for Meadors’s team.
Iziane Castro Marques lead the way for the Dream with a career-high 31 points, and she helped keep Atlanta close early on, as the Dream trailed just 30-29 after one.
“Coach wanted me to run and they weren’t able to stop me on transitions so I got a lot of points from that,” Castro Marques said. “I took what I had from the beginning of the game and just stayed focused and tried to do as much as I could throughout.
But a little nudge from rookie Renee Montgomery turned the game in the second quarter. The No. 4 overall pick of the ’09 draft nailed back-to-back pull-up 3’s to give the Lynx momentum in the second.
Then Wiggins took over. The second-year player made Minnesota fans forget about the loss of Augustus, at least momentarily, dropping 18 points in the first half and hitting four of her final five shots. In the end, she scored nine of the team’s final 14 points to help it to a 58-50 lead at the break.
“We didn’t defend the 3-point shots in the corner, which we knew that they would have from Hodges and Wiggins,” Meadors said.
The half was also highlighted by a bit of chippy play between the two teams. Anosike caught Erika DeSouza with an elbow with 2:44 to play in the half, earning her a Flagrant 1.
“Nicky was throwing her elbows,” Meadors said. “I think she hit Erika three times before they called it. I don’t know what was going on, but Minnesota plays that way. They throw those arms. If the officials don’t call it then you get hit a few times.”
The win marked Minnesota’s third consecutive victory since the loss of Augustus and increased its record to 6-3. Charde Houston and Anosike both notched double-doubles for the road team, both finishing with 18 points and 10 boards on the evening.
Atlanta dropped its second straight game. The Dream will try to get back on track on Friday. They face the Washington Mystics for a 7:30 p.m. tip at Philips Arena.
Bagriansky can be reached at jbagriansky@scoreatl.com.
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