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Gillom, Lynx win first two games in blowout fashion
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Seimone Augustus (Juan Ocampo/Getty Images)
I think it's safe to say that Jennifer Gillom's tenure as Head Coach of the Minnesota Lynx has started out pretty well.
The Lynx roared out to a 2-0 start this weekend, thanks to two consecutive blowout victories under their rookie coach, who was promoted from her position as an assistant only days before the start of the season when former Head Coach Don Zierden was hired as an assistant for Flip Saunders with the NBA's Washington Wizards.
In Gillom's first weekend in charge, the Lynx dominated both games, winning by margins of 17 and 22 points. Minnesota's offense, which ranked second in the WNBA last season, picked up right were it left off. In the season opener against the Chicago Sky, the Lynx amassed 102 points at the Target Center, led by 23 points from All Star forward Seimone Augustus and 20 from second- year star Candice Wiggins. Augustus and Wiggins combined to go 19-19 from the free throw line in the opener, as Minnesota went on to win 102-85 in a game which the Lynx controlled the rest of the way after a decisive second quarter.
But if game one was in hand after two quarters, Minnesota made even quicker work of the the Indiana Fever in the season's second game. The Lynx silenced the home crowd in Indianapolis right out of the gates, cruising to a 96-74 victory thanks to a blistering, record- setting first quarter. Minnesota set team records for most points and highest field goal percentage in a quarter by scoring 34 points on 13-14 shooting in the first frame. The .929 shooting percentage was the second- best single quarter total in WNBA history, and the 60 points that Minnesota scored in the first half were only 1 shy of the league mark for points in an opening half. Charde Houston, another second- year starter for the Lynx, led the team in scoring against Indiana with 23 points on 10-12 shooting. Augustus was just as efficient, finishing with 19 points while making 9 of her 11 shots from the field. Minnesota shot a scorching 63.2% for the game.
Perhaps the most promising sign from Minnesota's first two games, however, was its opportunistic defense. Center Nicky Anosike came up with four steals in each of the first two games, leading a defense that at least showed it could create a good amount of turnovers, even if the points allowed were still a little high. Those point totals are a little misleading given the nature and mood of the games, which were both already decided pretty early on. The fact that the defense showed signs of improvement while the offense did not suffer could be a sign that the Lynx, a team loaded with young talent, could be turning the corner and becoming a legitimate threat in the WNBA this year.
Minnesota will get its first real test of the season this Wednesday, when the Lynx will take on the Los Angeles Sparks in Minneapolis. Los Angeles enters the game 1-1 after splitting a home-and-home series with defending champion Detroit to open the season. Los Angeles is playing without defending rookie of the year Candace Parker, who is sitting out due to maternity leave.
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