-ever qualifying result.Nicky Hayden, riding in place of

Betreff



MINNEAPOLIS -- The Minnesota Lynx were backed into a corner after a Game 1 loss on their home floor to the star-studded Los Angeles Sparks.No time to panic for this battle-tested group. The defending champions know just how to respond.Maya Moore had 21 points and 12 rebounds to help the Lynx even the WNBA Finals at one game apiece with a 79-60 victory in Game 2 on Tuesday night.This team bounces back well. We cant stay down for too long, Moore said. And Im a part of that. I wanted to bring that energy and thats what I took on myself personally today.Sylvia Fowles had 13 points and 15 boards and Minnesota held Los Angeles to 32.9 percent shooting to bounce back from a last-second loss in Game 1. Seimone Augustus scored 14 points and Minnesota dominated on the glass, 46-32, to pull away.We played like this game was more important to them than it was to us and thats unfortunate, Sparks coach Brian Agler said. You dont get these opportunities often, so you have to play like you might not get this game back.Nneka Ogwumike had 14 points and 12 rebounds for the Sparks, who head back home for the next two games in the best-of-five series. Candace Parker was quiet with six points on 3-for-12 shooting and the Sparks missed 17 of 20 3-pointers.The Lynx are trying to become the first back-to-back champions in the league since the Sparks repeated in 2002. A win in this series would also give Minnesota its fourth championship, which would tie the Lynx with the Houston Comets for most in league history.Last year the Lynx lost Game 1 at Target Center to the Indiana Fever, but rebounded to win that series in five games. But they know they face an even more capable challenger this year.We know what we needed to do, Augustus said. We watched the entire footage from Game 1 and saw where we made mistakes.Neither team led by more than five points during an air-tight Game 1 that Los Angeles won at the buzzer on a jumper from Alana Beard. The first 16 minutes of Game 2 were just as competitive, but Moore and the Lynx seized control in the final four minutes of the second quarter.After going scoreless in the first half of Game 1, Moore got rolling during a 17-3 blitz to close the period. She hit two 3s and a layup, then picked Parkers pocket and heaved a three-quarter length outlet to a streaking Lindsay Whalen for a three-point play and a 37-25 lead.Moore had 12 points in the first half and the Lynx took much better care of the ball after coughing it up 11 times in the first half of Game 1.The Sparks made things interesting with a 14-0 run in the third quarter that made the score 44-41, but Augustus and Moore took over in the fourth to turn back the charge.I think it had a lot to do with our effort, Ogwumike said. Not to say that we dont want it. But you get tired and muddled and youre not focusing on what youre doing, a lot of times confusion can seep in. And I think thats what happened.MVP DISAPPEARS: Ogwumike, the league MVP, scored just two points in the final period, and took just six shots in the entire game. Its a hard job. (Our post players) made it look easy, but its not, Moore said. Shes such an explosive player.REBOUNDING ADVANTAGE: The Lynx parlayed their edge on the glass into a 17-7 advantage in second-chance points. They shot a pedestrian 45 percent from the field, but had 13 offensive rebounds to create more opportunities. When the ball went up on the glass and a shot was taken on either end, they outworked us, Agler said.QUOTABLE: Now I know how Shaq felt in the NBA, -- Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve on the physical play on Fowles in the paint.RECORD RATING: The WNBA instituted a new playoff format this year that seeded teams based on record, not geography. It resulted in the two best teams during the regular season meeting in the finals despite both playing in the Western Conference. Game 1 drew an average audience of 597,000, the most-watched Game 1 ever on ABC, the network announced on Tuesday. It peaked with 693,000 viewers and was the most-watched Game 1 since 1998 broadcast across ABC, ESPN and ESPN2.UP NEXT: Game 3 is Friday in Los Angeles.Custom Los Angeles Dodgers Jerseys . The Hall of Fame defenceman told Landsberg that he believes fighting still has a place in todays game, but thinks staged fighting needs be outlawed. Kirk Gibson Youth Jersey . - Oakland Raiders running back Rashad Jennings was speaking to a group of local high school students earlier this week when the conversation turned to the importance of being prepared when opportunities in life arise. http://www.ladodgersprostore.us/Kenley-Jansen-dodgers-jersey/ . -- If this was Aaron Gordons final home game at Arizona, and it almost certainly was, then he went out in style. Sandy Koufax Dodgers Jersey . "I dont know that were close," said general manager Alex Anthopoulos. "I just think, right now, the acquisition cost just doesnt work for us right now. I dont know if I can quantify how far off or things like that that they might be but I would say we continue to have dialogue. Mike Piazza Womens Jersey . They hope to persuade the other team owners and commissioner Roger Goodell to put pressure on Redskins owner Daniel Snyder to drop the nickname they find offensive. "Given the way the meeting transpired," Ray Halbritter, an Oneida representative and leader of the "Change the Mascot Campaign," said Wednesday, "it became somewhat evident they were defending the continued use of the name.PHILIP ISLAND, Australia -- Newly crowned world champion Marc Marquez will start in pole position in Sundays Australian Moto GP after brilliantly reading rainy conditions during qualifying on the Philip Island circuit.Marquez arrived in Australia after winning last weekends Japan round of the series to tie up the title with three rounds remaining. At 23, the Spaniard is the youngest rider to win the world title three times, surpassing Britains Mike Hailwood.Marquez chose the perfect moment to return to the circuit on slick tires Saturday to qualify seven tenths of a second faster than fellow Honda rider Cal Crutchlow.Pol Espargaro, who qualified almost a full second further back on a Yamaha, will complete the front row.This weekend has been really tricky with the weather conditions, Marquez said. You need to be fast, of course, but you need to have the correct strategy, too.At the moment were going out at the correct time with the correct tires every time and we were able to be on pole position.It was difficult to find the perfect lap but we did.Saturdays changeable weather conditions claimed a number of victims, including Italys Valentino RRossi who will start in 15th place in his worst qualifying performance since 2011.ddddddddddddFridays practice rounds were almost entirely lost to rain, forcing a packed schedule on Saturday which was further affected by unpredictable conditions. The track began to dry late in the first qualifying session and was dry at the start of second qualifying, though further rain was predicted.Many riders headed out on intermediates but Marquez was among the first to switch to slicks and his gamble paid off as he opened a 1.5 second lead before the remainder of the grid began to peg him back.Suzukis Aleix Espargaro had a strong second qualifying session to challenge for the front row but was just beaten over the line by his brother Pol and will start in fourth place.Australias Jack Miller finished fifth for his best-ever qualifying result.Nicky Hayden, riding in place of injured Dani Pedrosa, took seventh place on his return to MotoGP, ahead of Stefan Bradl who will be his teammate in 2017 on the Honda World Superbike Team. ' ' ' Text

Thema speichern Vorschau Fotos hochladen mit addPics.com und bequem in den Beitrag einfügen. Fotos hochladen Bei Antworten informieren Umfrage einfügen Datei anhängen