SEATTLE — Maya Moore had 17 points, nine rebounds, four assists and two blocked shots, and Sylvia Fowles scored 15 points on 7-of-8 shooting to help the Minnesota Lynx beat the Seattle Storm 78-71 on Sunday.
Lindsay Whalen added 14 points and Rebekkah Brunson scored 12 for the Lynx (3-0). Whalen moved past Sheryl Swoopes into 14th on the WNBA career scoring list with 4,882 points.
“They’re the best team in the world so for us to be able to go toe-to-toe with them, it says a lot,” said Storm head coach Jenny Boucek. “They have been a dynasty for five years. They are the cream of the crop in our league, they’ve been together a long time, they know how to win together, and they’re loaded with amazing players. Every year, for the past five years they’ve had the best defense and the best offense. That’s where we strive to get to; they’re the team that’s our measuring stick for the league.”
Alysha Clark led the Storm (1-2) with a career-high 20 points. Jewell Loyd scored 14 points and Sue Bird added 12 with nine assists.
“I think it was good for us to show the competitive nature that we have,” Clark said. “Obviously, they’re the reigning champs so you have no choice but to step up and play.
“I think it was a good test for us coming off the win in Phoenix to see how we were going to act. I think we fought really hard down the stretch, obviously not the outcome we wanted, but we made them work for everything and that’s something we can take and learn from for the next game.”
Rookie Breanna Stewart had 14 points, 13 rebounds, three assists and two blocks, but was scoreless — on 0-for-10 shooting — in the second half.
“It’s been fun watching Stewie, she goes from Candice Parker, to Brittney Griner, to now Fowles and Rebekkah Brunson, and on one point she was on Maya Moore when they went small,” Boucek said of Stewart. “Just to see her really attacking every challenge, excited about every challenge. Whether it’s an individual or a team challenge you’re seeing why she’s so great, and why she will be so great.”
“I thought for the most part we did a good job rebounding,” Stewart said. “Obviously at the end there were some that we needed but just couldn’t get but we’ll do better next time.”
Bird hit a jumper that pulled the Storm within two with four minutes to go. Minnesota responded with a 7-0 run over the next two minutes to pull away as Fowles made a layup, Brunson knocked down a baseline jumper and Whalen hit a 3 from the top of the key to make it 74-65.
“We always go in respecting our opponent and scouting our opponent but we need to get better,” Bird said. “We needed to get better; and that’s really what our focus has been, just continuing to get better offensively, defensively, and develop that chemistry. We want to be Minnesota someday and have that identity where they know exactly what they’re doing, why they’re doing it, and when they’re doing it.”
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
