Victory Tour: Lynx vs. Shock

Alright, Lynx Nation, it is time to dive right in to our victory tour! The first game of the regular season was a home game for us against the Tulsa Shock on June 5, 2015. We were, of course, very excited to start our season, and I am happy to report that we came out of this game with a win.

At the beginning of this year, we had no idea how good the Tulsa Shock were going to be. With all of their players healthy, this was a very strong team. Skylar Diggins is a talented player, and when paired with Odyssey Sims, this team is really strong.

Our starting line-up for this game included our Core Four and Damiris Dantas at Center. Within the first minute of the game, Maya Moore sunk a beautiful three pointer to start our season off right. Linsday Whalen drove to the basket right after the first minute of the game expired and got a traditional Lindsay call. Going back and watching this game really makes me miss healthy Lindsay. She is one talented lady, and watching her play at 100% really makes me realize how off she was during the playoffs. Maya got two early foul calls, which forced us to call up Tricia Liston, which made pretty much all of us cringe. No one wants to see Trish in the game with 7 minutes left in the first quarter. Not even Trish looked excited to be there that early. The first quarter didn't go terribly well for us. Rebekkah Brunson played well and got some pretty awesome rebounds, including a few awesome offensive rebounds, one of which earned her a call that sent her to the line. After Rebekkah hit one of two free throws, Maya got a fantastic steal at the other end, but we were not able to capitalize on that because Trish missed her three. The best thing about our team in the first quarter was Lindsay Whalen. Not only did Lindsay drive aggressively to the basket, but she also had some fantastic assists. Between some great passes under the basket for Rebekkah and a beautiful no-look pass on a backdoor cut by Maya, Lindsay really was on fire. To close out the quarter, Maya hit a clutch three to bring us to a score of 26-19. No one was happy that we were down, but Maya's three gave us a bit of momentum heading into the second quarter. Overall, this was not a strong quarter for us. We picked things up a little towards the end, but we were in a good place heading into the second.

At the start of the second quarter, we hit two pretty quick shots, and the Shock were forced to call a timeout to try to stop our 13-0 run. Unfortunately for us, it worked for them. After they hit a basket and two free throws, Lindsay drove to the basket and was not awarded a foul all. I remember thinking it was odd that she did not get the call, but I do not think anyone had any idea how few calls she would get throughout the season. Shortly after that, Seimone Augustus scored her first points of the night off of a beautiful crossover. Despite not playing perfect basketball, it was great to see our team playing more like the Lynx team we know and love. Our Core Four was strong throughout the first first half. Unfortunately, Maya got whistled for her third foul, sending her to the bench and Trish and Jenn O'Neill, our undrafted point guard. Despite her not sticking around for most of the season, Jenn was a spunky, energetic addition to our team. Not much was going right for our team in the second half of the second quarter. Damiris Dantas got herself into foul trouble, so we were forced to put Dev Peters into the game. At the time, that was not something that made most fans terribly happy. I am quite pleased to say that I no longer cringe when Dev steps on the court. In fact, I now think she brings a lot to our team. With just over a minute to go in the half, Seimone hit a two to put us up by one. The Shock quickly answered, but Lindsay had an answer prepared. She drove at the rim and missed, but Rebekkah "Band-Aid" Brunson was there for the offensive rebound. She put it up and hit the shot, putting the Lynx up 45-44 at the half.

Lindsay Whalen driving in for a contested layup.

At the beginning of the half, we had our starters back on the floor. Despite Lindsay's great defensive rebound, we had some trouble getting our offense started. Maya, of course, came through for us with a big three from relatively far beyond the arc. Lindsay helped us keep up our momentum, but the Shock continued to answer each and every one of our shots. After Cheryl pulled Lindsay out of the game for around 45 seconds, we were suddenly down by eight in the third quarter. We all know that the third quarter is supposed to be Lynx Quarter, so everyone was getting a bit worried. Would we really be a championship caliber team this year? Cheryl quickly called a timeout to move our line-up around. As soon as she got back in the game, Lindsay drove to the basket, drawing yet another Linds-Foul. I know I keep saying this, but Lindsay really was a completely different player in the post-season than she was pre-injury. At around the four minute mark after the game started getting physical, Lindsay got the ball on a fast break, but we just didn't have numbers. It looked like we might turn the ball over, but then Lindsay, in true Lindsay fashion, found Rebekkah on an almost impossible pass to bring us back within three. With one minute left in the game, Seimone got a fantastic steal, only to end up down at our end with Trish as her only option to pass to. Despite Seimone making the right basketball decision, Trish could not handle the pass and just dropped it out of bounds. We were able to hold for the last shot of the quarter. Maya took a three and was fouled, meaning she got to take three free throws, two of which she hit. Her final free throw did not fall, but Dev was there for the rebound and put back. She hit the shot, and our team finally had some momentum. Heading into the quarter, we were only down by one.

To start the fourth quarter, we inexplicably still had Trish. To the surprise of all of us, Trish actually forced a turnover on the first possession of the quarter. Off of that momentum (and an offensive foul drawn by Jenn), Maya hit a big three, putting us up by two points. After a few more times up and down the court (and a surprising rebound by Trish), Rebekkah got the biggest rebound of all time and passed it to Lindsay who hit an awesome layup. Moments like this remind me how amazing our entire team is. Our team cohesion is incredible, and watching each of our players shine is such a great feeling. With just over five minutes left in the fourth quarter, Lindsay hit a layup, drew the foul, and was headed to the free throw line. She hit it, of course, because that's what Lindsay does. That put us up by three, but no one felt comfortable yet. Rebekkah hit a nice layup after driving to the basket, putting us up by five. When everyone got back down to the end of the floor, Maya got called for her fifth foul. It was a completely ridiculous call. However, Maya was able to almost immediately block Plenette Pierson's three and get a steal. She and Lindsay streaked up the court on the fast break, putting us up by seven and making us feel a little better about our ability to win basketball games. Of course, the game was far from over, so no one would dare say we were feeling comfortable. Unfortunately, on our next possession, Dev threw the ball away on a less-than-great pass to Maya. With 1:30 left in the quarter, we were suddenly only down by two. Lynx Nation held its collective breath, hoping beyond hope that we would not lose our home opener. Cheryl called a timeout, and we drew up a play for Seimone. She hit a nice, contested runner, putting us up by four. Lindsay was followed shortly after that and was sent to the line where she hit both free throws. With 37 seconds left, we drew up a play for Seimone again. She wasn't able to finish and the ball was batted out of bounds. The referees went over to the instant replay, and we were awarded the basketball. Maya inbounded the ball to Seimone who was fouled and sent to the free throw line. To close out the game, the Shock bricked a shot, we inbounded, they got a steal, and the game clock expired. Despite it not being a terribly exciting end to the game, this was a great way to start our season. We came away with the win (83-75) and a lot of confidence moving forward.

Rebekkah Brunson had 14 points and 18 rebounds for a great start to the season!

Despite my long recap of this game, Rebekkah Brunson's contributions seemed quite understated when I reread what I wrote. Without Rebekkah and her incredible rebounding skills, we would likely have lost this game. Only two shy of her career high, Rebekkah pulled in 18 board in addition to contributing 14 points to our overall score. No one talks about her contributions to this team enough, in my opinion. You will likely continue to see why as our victory tour progresses.

In important WNBA news for this season, the Shock discovered shortly before this game that Glory Johnson would be sitting out the season because she was pregnant. Johnson and Britteny Griner of the Phoenix Mercury were married around a month before this game, just weeks after the two were arrested for a domestic disturbance. Just one day after Johnson announced her pregnancy, Griner filed for an annulment of their marriage. All of that being said, the reason this matters to the WNBA is that this set the stage for any players who may be involved in domestic disturbances in the future. Because both Johnson and Griner were arrested, both were suspended for seven games. Johnson will serve her suspension at the beginning of 2016. This precedent-setting decision was a bit of a controversial move by the WNBA. Is seven games enough? Too much? Should they have gotten involved at all? I think they ultimately made the right decision by suspending both players. It send the message that domestic violence is never tolerated, which I think is an important stance for this league to take. 

Setting the Stage

Before I dive in to our victory tour, I want to set the stage for this season. Lynx Nation had come off of a relatively disheartening end to the 2014 season, but we were pretty confident that this season would be different. No one really wanted to say it out loud for fear of jinxing us, but we all knew this was likely to be our year. At the end of 2014, we lost to the Phoenix Mercury in the Western Conference Finals. For quite a few years, the unwritten rule of the WNBA had been that whoever won the Western Conference Finals was sort of a shoe-in for the championship. I will not go into the details of our loss, but just know that it was a rough one.

The 2014 Minnesota Lynx
From Left to Right:
Janel McCarville, Maya Moore, Seimone Augustus, Lindsay Whalen, Monica Wright, Rebekkah Brunson

At the beginning of this season, we were hit with some tough news. Janel McCarville, beloved center and University of Minnesota graduate, would not be returning to play with our team this season. If you are anything like me, you immediately thought through our roster and came to this conclusion: If we did not get a new center (and fast!) we would be left with either Devereaux Peters or Damiris Dantas starting, whether we moved Rebekkah Brunson to center or not. This, based on the performance of these two players in 2014, was unacceptable. Luckily, we made a few moves and acquired Asjha Jones, a 6'2" veteran who had been an Olympian in the past. In addition to Asjha, we also acquired Anna Cruz, a second year guard from Spain, from the New York Liberty. We also drafted Reshanda Grey and Shae Kelley. We also lost Tan White and Asia Taylor in the off season, but no one was too torn up to see them go (especially Asia Taylor). Despite losing Janel, we were starting to shape up decently for the upcoming season. We still had our Core Four (Lindsay Whalen, Seimone Augustus, Rebekkah Brunson, and Maya Moore), so we felt pretty good about our chances, especially considering what was happening in the rest of the league.

Here's a quick look at what the roster looked like going into the season:

Pos.	Starter	Bench
C	Asjha Jones/Damiris Dantas	Devereaux Peters
PF	Rebekkah Brunson	Reshanda Grey
SF	Maya Moore	Tricia Liston
SG	Seimone Augustus	Anna Cruz Monica Wright
PG	Lindsay Whalen	Jennifer O'Neill

Of course, by the end of the year, our roster looked quite a bit different. But more to come on that as our victory tour progresses.

During the off season, Diana Taurasi of the Phoenix Mercury announced that she would be sitting out the 2015 season at the behest of her Russian team for whom she plays during the WNBA off season. Her team, UMMC Ekaterinburg, paid her to sit out this WNBA season. This, of course, poses some important questions to WNBA fans. Was this a horribly selfish thing for her to do? What does this mean for the WNBA? Is this going to become a regular thing? Do Mercury fans feel betrayed, or do they support her decision to leave them without their biggest star (although not without their most marketable player)? Will she be welcomed back to the league with open arms? Would this be happening if America cared about women's sports? Don't worry, Lynx Nation, I will flush out all of these questions in a future post. I'm sure you're all on the edge of your seats. All of this is a bit beside the point I'm trying to make at the moment. I bring up Diana Taurasi's absence to highlight the position the Lynx were in at the start of the season. Barring a devastating injury to one of the Core Four, we were in a pretty good place.

Of course, the season did not go as smoothly as it originally appeared it might. We had a lot of ups and downs, and there were moments when each of us almost wavered in our steadfast belief that we deserved the title more than anyone else. Even in the lowest of moments for our team, we knew we were the luckiest fans in the WNBA. People say this all the time, but our team truly has a lot of heart. I never understood what people meant by that until I had the opportunity to follow this amazing group of ladies. As always, GO LYNX!

We are the Champions!

We did it, Lynx Nation. We officially are the 2015 WNBA Champions! This finals run was much more of an uphill battle than anyone would have predicted at the beginning of the year, but that just made the taste of victory that much more sweet. For many members of Lynx Nation, this is the third championship you have been part of. For others like myself, this is the first time you've tasted victory. No matter how long you've been with this team, I imagine that the feeling of being the best team never gets old. Let's savor this moment, Lynx Nation. No matter what happens in the future, we are the champions. We deserve this.

I am going to start a victory tour of the 2015 season, culminating in us winning Game 5 of the Finals at home. I will largely focus on our wins (come on, who wants to come down from a high like winning the championship?), but I will also mention some moments that nearly made out hearts stop. For now, enjoy the victory. We are the champions, my friends!

The WNBA: We Roar As One

As a WNBA fan, I have found that information about teams, news, and big moments is exceptionally hard to come by. Fellow fans with whom we can discuss our triumphs and heartbreaks are even fewer and further between. We celebrate at the games or in front of our televisions, getting only the news posted on the WNBA app on our phones. As fans of a women's sports league in America, we have had people tell us that our team is not a "real professional sports team." We know how wrong they are, but it still stings when people say things like that. The popular media does not really help our case. On any given day, ESPN.com has little to nothing to say about the WNBA, even when the only other basketball to speak of is the NBA summer league. Even finding an injury report is difficult. This lack of voice for the strong, talented women who play in this league is horrible, and as fans, we aren't really sure what our role is in helping increase the visibility of this league. We love our team, and we want them to get the recognition they deserve. But what can we do when we have no way to connect with each other and to disseminate information about our beloved team?

This is where I hope to come in. As a Minnesota Lynx fan living in Atlanta, GA, I only have one other person with whom I can discuss the WNBA. After we won the championship last week, I wrote a Facebook status that summed up our year and what it is like to be a Lynx fan. One of my friends said that I should write for the Lynx, and I just laughed it off. But it got me thinking. What was stopping me from creating a place for Lynx fans to talk and read about our team? Sure, we have On the Lynx, the Star Tribune blog dedicated to our team, but I wanted to create a space where we can really feel the presence of other fans. I want to take on the big issues in the WNBA (the pay gap between the NBA and WNBA, visibility (or lack thereof), Diana Taurasi sitting out the 2015 season, Shoni Schimmel making the All-Star Team again despite not actually being that good when people play defense, The Foul and the problems we've had with referees, and so much more). I also want to talk about the little moments that only matter to Lynx Fans. I want to immortalize Devereaux Peters' block from earlier this season. I want to talk about the contributions of Anna Cruz (and maybe finally figure out how to pronounce her name...). I want to discuss how Seimone suddenly can't hit threes anymore. I want to ponder why Lindsay no longer gets calls when she drives to the basket. I want to make an argument for Rebekkah Brunson as the most underrated player in the league. I want to talk about Maya and everything she stands for.

This is a place for Lynx Nation, but it is also a place for WNBA fans as a whole. We all need to band together to increase visibility for the league we love. The Lynx have a few sayings about roaring as one and being forever unified. I think that if we apply that mentality to the entire WNBA, we have the chance to effect great change.

For now, I will leave you with this quote from the amazing Maya Moore: "If we want to grow the women's game, we've got to grow the visibility...I take it with great responsibility to do just that." Maya can't do it all on her own. She needs our help to make the WNBA the best it can possibly be.