Lynx Fall To Sky

By Lisa Steele: SPM MN Writer
Posted Wednesday, July 2, 2008

MINNEAPOLIS - With Seimone Augustus back in the starting lineup after missing her first WNBA start in 82 games due to a toe injury, her 10 points tonight just weren't enough to get by the rising Chicago Sky, who pulled out the 73-71 win Tuesday night at the Target Center.

With .07 left on the clock and the game on the line, the ball was inbounded to Augustus. She took the final shot just inside the 3-point line, but her shot was blocked by Sky forward Brooke Wyckoff -- or was it?

Judging from the reaction of both teams, the coaches, and the fans as the whistles blew and buzzer sounded, it was never clear what the referees meant to call. Did Wyckoff really block the shot? Or was there a foul?

"We wanted the get Seimone the ball,” Lynx head coad Don Zierden said. “We wanted her to get an open look or get fouled. I think we accomplished a couple of things there; I'll let you guys be the judge of that."

Despite Augustus’ season-low scoring, the Lynx got three double-digit performances off their bench. Leading the way was rookie Candice Wiggins with 17, followed by rookie Charde Houston, with 13. Vanessa Hayden-Johnson made a huge impression, scoring a season-high 13 points in the losing effort.

"We really wanted to win this game,” Hayden-Johnson said. “We're headed out to the west coast to battle the two top teams in the West. It's going to be a tough road trip for us but I think we can pull it out."

If they want to have a successful road trip out west and come back home on a winning note, the Lynx starting five will have to step up their games. The Lynx bench outscored the starters 47-24 in this game.

The Sky, on the other hand, got 60 of their 73 points thanks to their starting lineup. Leading the way was third-year player Candice Dupree with a game-high 26 points and 10 rebounds.

"She's a very good player,” Zierden said. “I think she was an all-star last year. She did some nice things against us. She can shoot the 15-footer and attack the rim."

Not to be overshadowed by the play of Dupree, the Sky's starting guard Jia Perkins scored 20 and also hit a huge 3-pointer at the 1:22 mark of the game to put the Sky up 70-67.

"Coach set up a dribble play out of the time out, and we just executed it," Perkins said. "I think the whole team's excited right now and it's tough to come here to Minnesota and get a win."

Up next for the Lynx will be the Western Conference-leading Los Angeles Sparks. This will be the second meeting of the season for these two teams. The Lynx lost the last one, a preseason matchup back on May 11th, by one point in overtime. The last time the Lynx defeated the Sparks at the Staples Center was during the 2004 season.