Game 3: Minnesota 80, Indiana 77

Key Players (Lynx):

Maya Moore- 24 points, 7 rebounds, 2 steals, 22 minutes!

Seimone Augustus- 13 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists

Sylvia Fowles- 11 points, 11 rebounds

Anna Cruz- 10 points, 5 assists, 2 steals

Key Players (Fever):

Shenise Johnson- 17 points, 4 assists

Briann January- 15 points, 3 rebounds, 8 assists, 4 turnovers

Tamika Catchings- 10 points, 10 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals

Erlana Larkins- 8 points, 9 rebounds

Game Story:

Catchings was once again benched early on with two fouls in the first 8 minutes.  Moore sat about a minute later with two fouls of her own.  Interestingly, the two stars were replaced with Tricia Liston and Layshia Clarendon, neither of which have spent much time playing in the Finals or in the playoffs at all.  The first quarter ended up being a good one in any case, ending in a 20-19 Minnesota lead, with hustle and effective offensive execution on both sides.

Maya came out on fire in the second quarter with a layup and a three, but unfortunately another quick foul sent her right back to the bench with 8 and a half minutes still to go in the half.  Lindsay Whalen, still not looking like herself, couldn’t keep up with Shenise Johnson, who helped Indiana to make a 9-0 run that put the Fever up by 3 points.  Overall, Johnson had 11 points in Q2 on 5/5 shooting.  At halftime, the Fever were winning 42-38 by shooting 6/11 of their three-pointers and restricting Sylvia Fowles to only 3 shots.

The third quarter started with yet another silly foul by Maya, further limiting her minutes.  Minnesota’s offense, however, never flagged, and 5 Indiana turnovers allowed the Lynx to retake the lead going into the fourth. 

The last ten minutes continued to be a fast-paced, back-and-forth battle in which neither team seemed to truly gain the advantage.  Tamika was effective at everything except putting the ball in the hole, missing at least two easy layups.  With a minute on the game clock, the score was tied by a 3 from Renee Montgomery at 77-77.  A couple misses later, the score was still tied and Indiana had possession with 17 seconds left.  A few passes gave Shenise Johnson an open three-point attempt, but it went long, and with .1 seconds on the clock, the ball left Maya’s hand and went right into the bucket for an 80-77 Lynx win.

Despite the Fever loss, I keep being surprised at how evenly matched these two teams are.  Minnesota has all the big-name players (except for Catchings), and yet every game in this series has been a desperate battle to the final possession.  Stephanie White has done a great in her first year as a head coach for the Fever, and their tight teamwork on offense and on defense is really what has allowed them to compete against the powerhouse Lynx.  They have one more game at home to tie up the series- let’s see if the Fever can force a Game 5!

 
Game 4: Sunday, October 11th