2012 Minnesota Lynx season

The 2012 WNBA season is the 14th season for the Minnesota Lynx of the Women's National Basketball Association. The Lynx are the defending WNBA Champions, having won the 2011 WNBA Finals over the Atlanta Dream. The Lynx qualified for the playoffs, and finished with the best record in the WNBA. On October 7, 2012, the Lynx won their second straight WNBA Western Conference championship, earning a spot in the 2012 WNBA finals.

2012 Minnesota Lynx season
CoachCheryl Reeve
ArenaTarget Center
Attendance9,683 per game
Results
Record277 (.794)
Place1st (Western)
Playoff finishLost WNBA Finals
Team Leaders
PointsAugustus (16.8)
ReboundsBrunson (8.90)
AssistsWhalen (5.4)
Media
RadioKLCI
TelevisionFS-N
ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, NBATV

Transactions

WNBA Draft

The following are the Lynx' selections in the 2012 WNBA Draft.

Round Pick Player Nationality School/Team/Country
1 3 (from Was.) Devereaux Peters  United States Notre Dame
1 12 Damiris Dantas do Amaral  Brazil Brazil
2 18 (from Pho.) Julie Wojta  United States Wisconsin-Green Bay
2 19 (from N.Y.) Kayla Standish  United States Gonzaga
2 20 (from Atl.) Nika Barič  Slovenia Merkur Celjie (Slovenia)
3 31 (from N.Y.) Jacki Gemelos  United States USC

Transaction log

  • April 11, 2011: The Lynx acquired a second-round pick in the 2012 Draft from the Atlanta Dream as part of the Felicia Chester/Rachel Jarry transaction.
  • April 11, 2011: The Lynx acquired a second-round pick in the 2012 Draft from the New York Liberty as part of the Jessica Breland trade.
  • April 11, 2011: The Lynx acquired a first-round pick in the 2012 Draft from the Washington Mystics in exchange for Nicky Anosike.
  • May 27, 2011: The Lynx swapped third-round picks in the 2012 Draft with the New York Liberty as part of the Quanitra Hollingsworth transaction.
  • January 23: The Lynx re-signed Jessica Adair.
  • January 26: The Lynx re-signed Taj McWilliams-Franklin.
  • February 2: The Lynx traded Alexis Hornbuckle to the Phoenix Mercury in exchange for a second-round pick in the 2013 Draft.
  • February 10: The Lynx re-signed Candice Wiggins.
  • February 13: The Lynx signed Erin Thorn.
  • February 28: The Lynx traded Charde Houston and the 24th pick in the 2012 Draft to the Phoenix Mercury in exchange for the 18th pick in the 2012 Draft.
  • April 25: The Lynx signed Queralt Casas, Jasmine Lee, and Porsche Poole.
  • April 26: The Lynx signed Tavelyn James and draft pick Julie Wojta.
  • April 29: The Lynx signed Brittany Rayburn.
  • May 2: The Lynx signed draft picks Devereaux Peters and Kayla Standish.
  • May 6: The Lynx waived Jasmine Lee, Tavelyn James, and Kayla Standish.
  • May 11: The Lynx waived Brittany Rayburn.
  • May 16: The Lynx waived Queralt Casas and Julie Wojta.
  • July 10: The Lynx signed Julie Wojta to a 7-day contract as an injury replacement.

Trades

Date Trade
February 2, 2012 To Minnesota Lynx To Phoenix Mercury
Second-round pick in 2013 Draft Alexis Hornbuckle
February 28, 2012 To Minnesota Lynx To Phoenix Mercury
18th pick in 2012 Draft Charde Houston and 24th pick in 2012 Draft

Personnel changes

Roster

2012 Minnesota Lynx roster
PlayersCoaches
Pos.#Nat.NameHeightWeightDOBFrom
C 1 Adair, Jessica 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 197 lb (89 kg) 12-19-1986 George Washington
G/F 33 Augustus, Seimone 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 165 lb (75 kg) 04-30-1984 LSU
F 32 Brunson, Rebekkah 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 184 lb (83 kg) 12-11-1981 Georgetown
F 6 Harris, Amber 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 202 lb (92 kg) 01-16-1988 Xavier
F/C 8 McWilliams-Franklin, Taj 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 08-20-1970 St. Edward's
F 23 Moore, Maya 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 06-11-1989 Connecticut
F 14 Peters, Devereaux 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 170 lb (77 kg) 10-08-1989 Notre Dame
G 5 Thorn, Erin 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) 145 lb (66 kg) 05-19-1981 BYU
G 13 Whalen, Lindsay 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) 160 lb (73 kg) 05-09-1982 Minnesota
G 11 Wiggins, Candice 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) 147 lb (67 kg) 02-14-1987 Stanford
G/F 22 Wright, Monica 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 171 lb (78 kg) 07-15-1988 Virginia
Head coach
Cheryl Reeve (La Salle)
Assistant coaches
Shelley Patterson (Washington State)
Jim Petersen (Minnesota)
Athletic trainer
Chuck Barta (Wisconsin-La Crosse)
Assistant trainer
Keith Uzpen (Minnesota State-Mankato)

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (IN) Inactive
  • (S) Suspended
  • Injured

Depth

Pos. Starter Bench
C Taj McWilliams-Franklin Jessica Adair
Amber Harris
PF Rebekkah Brunson Devereaux Peters
SF Maya Moore Monica Wright
SG Seimone Augustus Candice Wiggins
PG Lindsay Whalen Erin Thorn

Season Summary

First Half of Season

Expectations were high for the Lynx as they opened the 2012 season. The team returned all five starters from their 2011 championship season, including four all-stars. Those expectations were matched through the early part of the season, as the team set the WNBA record with 10 consecutive wins to start the season, before losing to Seattle on June 17.[1] The team then won two consecutive games to run their record to 12-1.

July proved to be a difficult month. The team lost three straight to start the month, and lost forwards Devereaux Peters and Rebekkah Brunson to injuries. The team signed guard Julie Wojta, who had been drafted by the team but cut after training camp, to a 7-day contract to provide depth. The Lynx rebounded by winning back-to-back games over the Tulsa Shock, and went into the Summer Olympic Break with a 15-4 record.

Olympics

Three members of the Lynx—Seimone Augustus, Maya Moore, and Lindsay Whalen—were members of the United States women's national basketball team for the 2012 Summer Olympics. The three players were the most contributed by any WNBA squad. The team won gold during the games, the second medal for Augustus, and the first each for Moore and Whalen.

Injuries

Seimone Augustus missed two games in June with a strained quadriceps muscle. Jessica Adair underwent arthroscopic surgery on her knee on June 21. Devereaux Peters and Rebekkah Brunson both went out with injuries in July.

Second Half of Season

The Lynx returned to action on August 17, 2012, beating the Washington Mystics 98-69. They won their second game back, beating Tulsa 83-59 to clinch a berth in the playoffs.[2] It was the earliest in a season the Lynx had ever clinched a playoff spot.

The Lynx tied a WNBA record on September 7, when they came back from a 25-point deficit to defeat the Atlanta Dream in double overtime.[3]

The Lynx did not lose until September 11, when they fell to the Chicago Sky. By that point, the Lynx were comfortably ahead in the Western Conference standings; the team ultimately won the top overall seed in the playoffs, and matched a franchise record with 27 wins.

Season standings

Western Conference W L PCT GB Home Road Conf.
Minnesota Lynx z277.79416–111–617–5
Los Angeles Sparks x2410.7063.016–18–915–7
San Antonio Silver Stars x2113.6186.012–59–814–8
Seattle Storm x1618.47111.010–76–1111–11
Tulsa Shock o925.26518.06–113–145–17
Phoenix Mercury o727.20620.03–144–134–18

Schedule

Preseason

2012 Game Log: Preseason (May)

Regular season

2012 Game Log: Regular Season
All games are viewable on WNBA LiveAccess or ESPN3.com

Postseason

2012 Game Log: Postseason

Statistics

Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game  RPG  Rebounds per game
 APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game  BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game
 FG%  Field-goal percentage  3P%  3-point field-goal percentage  FT%  Free-throw percentage  TO  Turnovers per game
 PF  Fouls per game Team leader League leader

Regular season

Player GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
Jessica Adair 1908.8.351.000.5712.100.30.300.212.4
Seimone Augustus 292928.5.491.437.8523.602.50.930.2116.6
Rebekkah Brunson 313127.0.505.000.6798.901.21.190.9411.4
Amber Harris 2708.9.404.389.6821.900.60.330.483.5
Taj McWilliams-Franklin 333326.6.519.400.7505.402.51.031.398.4
Maya Moore 343429.7.465.388.8796.003.61.470.6516.4
Devereaux Peters 30214.1.560.000.7063.801.10.470.775.3
Erin Thorn 2607.5.362.3531.0000.900.90.150.002.0
Lindsay Whalen 333327.0.505.500.7274.205.40.700.1811.5
Candice Wiggins 34121.8.360.397.8652.102.00.710.126.8
Julie Wojta 104.0.000.000.0002.000.00.000.000.0
Monica Wright 34719.4.458.364.7402.401.91.030.188.6

Awards and honors

  • Maya Moore was named WNBA Western Conference Player of the Week for the week of August 16, 2012
  • Maya Moore was named WNBA Western Conference Player of the Week for the week of September 3, 2012
  • Taj McWilliams-Franklin became the WNBA's all-time leading offensive rebounder
  • WNBA record for most consecutive wins to begin a season (10)
  • Team record for highest field goal percentage in a single game (.695), July 10 vs. Tulsa
  • Lindsay Whalen finished as a Peak Performer, averaging 5.4 assists.

References

  1. Minnesota-Phoenix Archived 2013-03-05 at the Wayback Machine
  2. "Lynx beat Shock 83-59, clinch playoff berth". Archived from the original on 2012-08-20. Retrieved 2012-08-20.
  3. "Minnesota 97, Atlanta 93 (2OT)". Archived from the original on 2012-09-05. Retrieved 2012-09-08.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.