WNBA Conference Finals: Minnesota Lynx Dominate Phoenix Mercury in Game 1

When Minnesota took the court against Phoenix on Thursday night, many anticipated an offensive battle and exhilarating game. What they probably didn't expect was a blow-out game with a 28-point gap. Fortunately for the Lynx fans, Maya Moore and her squad ended up on the positive side of the 95-67 final score.

Cheryl Reeve, Minnesota's head coach, stated after the game:

“Phoenix is a difficult team to guard, but we made it look fairly easy tonight with the energy that we played from all positions.”

The Mercury have the No. 1 offense in the league, and yet Minnesota held them to just 37.5 percent from the field. The Lynx held a 17-point lead going into the second quarter—they never looked back.

Guard Diana Taurasi led her Southwest squad with 22 points but was only one of two Mercury starters to tally double digits. Taurasi continued to fight a one-woman battle when she helped Phoenix close the gap to eight in the second quarter. It wasn't enough, however.

Although the defense stole the show, Minnesota's offensive side of the court ran perfectly as well.

Lynx writer Menzie Henderson wrote:

"Despite every bucket Taurasi knocked down, Minnesota’s Seimone Augustus seemed to always have an answer. Behind Augustus and a spark plug effort off the bench from Wiggins, the Lynx closed the third with a 20-8 statement run to blow the game wide open."

Seimone Augustus led the team with 21 points, followed by Moore and Candice Wiggins with 15 and 14 points, respectively. The ladies' 95 total points set a franchise record for postseason points scored in a single game.

Minnesota will attempt to close out Game 2 this afternoon in Phoenix.