2011 WNBA Finals - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The 2011 WNBA Finals was the championship series of the 2011 season

2011 WNBA season

The 2011 WNBA season is the 15th season of the Women's National Basketball Association. The regular season began on June 3 with the Los Angeles Sparks hosting the Minnesota Lynx, featuring 2011 WNBA Draft top pick Maya Moore, in a game televised on NBA TV...

of the Women's National Basketball Association

Women's National Basketball Association

The Women's National Basketball Association is a women's professional basketball league in the United States. It currently is composed of twelve teams. The league was founded on April 24, 1996 as the women's counterpart to the National Basketball Association...

(WNBA), and the conclusion of the season's playoffs

2011 WNBA Playoffs

The 2011 WNBA Playoffs is the postseason for the Women's National Basketball Association's 2011 season. Four teams from each of the league's two conferences qualified for the playoffs seeded 1 to 4 in a tournament bracket, with the two opening rounds in a best-of-three format, and the final in a...

. The Minnesota Lynx

Minnesota Lynx

The Minnesota Lynx are a professional basketball team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, playing in the Western Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association . The team was founded prior to the 1999 season...

, champions of the Western Conference

Western Conference (WNBA)

The Western Conference of the Women's National Basketball Association is made up of six teams.The Western Conference playoffs is divided into two playoff rounds, The Conference Semi-Finals and The Conference Finals with the winner of the Conference Championship facing the Eastern Conference...

, swept the champions of the Eastern Conference

Eastern Conference (WNBA)

The Eastern Conference of the Women's National Basketball Association is made up of six teams.The Eastern Conference playoffs is divided into two playoff rounds, The Conference Semi-Finals and The Conference Finals with the winner of the Conference Championship facing the Western Conference...

, the Atlanta Dream

Atlanta Dream

The Atlanta Dream is a professional basketball team based in Atlanta, Georgia, playing in the Eastern Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association . The team was founded before the 2008 WNBA season began. The team is owned by Dream Too LLC, which is composed of two Atlanta...

in three games.

The WNBA Finals was under a 2–2–1 rotation. The Lynx held home-court advantage as they had a better regular season record (27–7) than the Dream (20–14). The 2011 Finals marked the first time the teams met in the championship round. The Lynx made their first ever appearance in the Finals while the Dream were making their second consecutive appearance, after appearing in the 2010 championship series

2010 WNBA Finals

The 2010 WNBA Finals was the championship series of the 2010 season of the Women's National Basketball Association and the conclusion of the season's playoffs...

.

Prior to 2011 the Minnesota franchise had not won a playoff series. They had not qualified for the postseason since 2004. Only four players had postseason experience: Rebekkah Brunson

Rebekkah Brunson

Rebekkah Brunson is a basketball player playing forward for the WNBA's Minnesota Lynx. Previously, Brunson played for the Georgetown University women's basketball team....

, Alexis Hornbuckle

Alexis Hornbuckle

Alexis Kay'ree Hornbuckle is an American professional basketball player in the WNBA.-High school years:...

, Taj McWilliams-Franklin and Lindsay Whalen

Lindsay Whalen

Lindsay Marie Whalen is an American professional basketball player for the Minnesota Lynx in the WNBA. She began her pro career as a point guard for the Connecticut Sun...

. To advance to the Finals, the Lynx defeated Diana Taurasi

Diana Taurasi

Diana Lorena Taurasi is a professional basketball player who plays for the Phoenix Mercury in the WNBA and Galatasaray Medical Park from Turkey...

and the Phoenix Mercury

Phoenix Mercury

The Phoenix Mercury is a professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona, playing in the Western Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association . The team was founded before the league's inaugural 1997 season began; it is one of the eight original franchises...

2–0 in the Western Conference Finals. Atlanta won its second straight Eastern Conference championship

Eastern Conference (WNBA)

by defeating the top-seeded Indiana Fever

Indiana Fever

The Indiana Fever is a professional basketball team based in Indianapolis, Indiana, playing in the Eastern Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association . The team was founded before the 2000 season began...

2–1 in the Eastern Conference Finals.

This was the first time in WNBA history that both Finals teams were coached by women. Minnesota's Cheryl Reeve

Cheryl Reeve

Cheryl Reeve is an American basketball head coach, currently the head coach of the reigning Women's National Basketball Association champion Minnesota Lynx.-Career:...

had been involved with the WNBA since 2001; she won championships with the Detroit Shock

Detroit Shock

The Detroit Shock was a Women's National Basketball Association team based in Auburn Hills, Michigan. They were the 2003, 2006 and 2008 WNBA champion...

in 2006

2006 WNBA Finals

The 2006 WNBA Finals was the championship series of the 2006 WNBA season, and the conclusion of the season's playoffs. The Detroit Shock, second-seeded champions of the Eastern Conference, defeated the Sacramento Monarchs, second-seeded champions of the Western Conference, three games to two in a...

and 2008

2008 WNBA Finals

The 2008 WNBA Finals was the championship series of the 2008 WNBA season, and the conclusion of the season's playoffs. The Detroit Shock, top-seeded champions of the Eastern Conference, defeated the San Antonio Silver Stars, top-seeded champions of the Western Conference, three games to none in a...

as an assistant to Bill Laimbeer

Bill Laimbeer

William "Bill" Laimbeer, Jr. is a retired National Basketball Association player for the Detroit Pistons. Playing at center, the 6'11" Laimbeer was a four-time All-Star and integral part of the Pistons teams that won two championships...

. This was the second consecutive Finals series to feature the most recent Coach of the Year

WNBA Coach of the Year Award

The Women's National Basketball Association's Coach of the Year is an annual Women's National Basketball Association award given since the league's inaugural season. The winner is selected at the end of regular season by a panel of sportswriters from the United States, each of whom casts a vote...

; Reeve won the award in 2011 (Seattle's

Seattle Storm

The Seattle Storm is a professional basketball team based in Seattle, Washington, playing in the Western Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association . The team was founded before the 2000 season began...

Brian Agler

Brian Agler is a basketball coach, currently the head coach of WNBA's Seattle Storm. He has been the head coach of two other professional women's teams, and won two professional titles as coach....

won in 2010). Atlanta's Marynell Meadors

Marynell Meadors

Marynell Meadors is a women's basketball coach at the college and professional level. She is currently the head coach and general manager of the Atlanta Dream of the Women's National Basketball Association and was one of the original eight head coaches when the WNBA started in...

, the 2009 Coach of the Year, was one of the league's original eight head coaches, leading the Charlotte Sting

Charlotte Sting

The Charlotte Sting was a Women's National Basketball Association franchise based in Charlotte, North Carolina and it was one of the league's eight original teams. The team folded on January 3, 2007....

to a 15–13 record in their inaugural season.

The 2011 WNBA Finals were the first since 2005 to feature two teams that have not previously won a WNBA championship.

The Lynx won the opening game of the series 88-74, using a 13-0 run at the start of the fourth quarter to break open a close game. They then won their second home game 101-95 behind 36 points from Seimone Augustus

Seimone Augustus

Seimone Augustus is an American professional basketball player in the WNBA, currently playing for the Minnesota Lynx, WBC Spartak Moscow Region and the US national team...

. Dream forward Angel McCoughtry

Angel McCoughtry

Angel Lajuane McCoughtry is a professional basketball player who completed her college career at the University of Louisville in 2009. She was selected first overall by the Atlanta Dream in the 2009 WNBA Draft and is considered its franchise player...

scored 35 points in Game 1 and 38 in Game 2, matching and surpassing her finals scoring record from 2010

2010 WNBA Finals

The 2010 WNBA Finals was the championship series of the 2010 season of the Women's National Basketball Association and the conclusion of the season's playoffs...

.

In Game 3, the Lynx trailed the Dream at halftime again, but shut down the Dream in the third quarter, holding them to eight points and taking a seven-point lead into the fourth quarter. The Dream closed to within one point in the fourth quarter, but never retook the lead; the Lynx won the game 73-67, clinching their first title.

2011 WNBA Regular Season

2011 WNBA Playoffs

Minnesota Lynx
27–7 (.794) 1st West, 1st overall	Seeding 2011 WNBA season The 2011 WNBA season is the 15th season of the Women's National Basketball Association. The regular season began on June 3 with the Los Angeles Sparks hosting the Minnesota Lynx, featuring 2011 WNBA Draft top pick Maya Moore, in a game televised on NBA TV...	20–14 (.588) 3rd East, 5th overall
Defeated the (4) San Antonio Silver Stars San Antonio Silver Stars The San Antonio Silver Stars are a professional basketball team based in San Antonio, Texas, playing in the Western Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association . The team was founded in Salt Lake City, Utah before the league's inaugural 1997 season began; the team moved to San Antonio... , 2-1	Conference Semifinals	Defeated the (2) Connecticut Sun Connecticut Sun The Connecticut Sun is a professional basketball team based in Uncasville, Connecticut, playing in the Eastern Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association . The team was founded in Orlando, Florida before the 1999 season began; the team moved to Connecticut before the 2003 season... , 2-0
Defeated the (3) Phoenix Mercury Phoenix Mercury The Phoenix Mercury is a professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona, playing in the Western Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association . The team was founded before the league's inaugural 1997 season began; it is one of the eight original franchises... , 2–0	Conference Finals	Defeated the (1) Indiana Fever Indiana Fever The Indiana Fever is a professional basketball team based in Indianapolis, Indiana, playing in the Eastern Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association . The team was founded before the 2000 season began... , 2–1

Regular season series

The Lynx won the regular season series:

Atlanta Dream

Again, the Dream advanced to the WNBA Finals for the second straight year by overcoming not having homecourt advantage in the first two rounds of the playoffs. The Atlanta Dream

Atlanta Dream

faced adversity early in the season due to Sancho Lyttle

Sancho Lyttle

Sancho Lyttle is a professional basketball player born in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, with Spanish citizenship. She is currently a power forward in the WNBA for the Atlanta Dream. Through her career, she has scored 1,505 points, collected 1,041 rebounds, and has 200 assists, 242 steals, and...

's overseas commitments and an injury to Angel McCoughtry

Angel McCoughtry

. To the advantage of the Dream, the core group of players returned from the team's 2010 run to the Finals. The addition of former first-overall draft pick Lindsey Harding

Lindsey Harding

Lindsey Marcie Harding is an American professional basketball player in the WNBA, currently playing for the Atlanta Dream. She was born in Mobile, Alabama, but grew up in Houston, Texas.-College career:...

as starting point guard helped the team even further. After starting the season with a dreadful 3–9 record, the Dream caught fire to go 17–5 to finish the season and entered the playoffs with the same momentum. As the No. 3 seed in the Eastern Conference

Eastern Conference (WNBA)

, the Dream eliminated the No. 2 seeded Connecticut Sun

Connecticut Sun

The Connecticut Sun is a professional basketball team based in Uncasville, Connecticut, playing in the Eastern Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association . The team was founded in Orlando, Florida before the 1999 season began; the team moved to Connecticut before the 2003 season...

in a two-game sweep during the conference semifinals of the playoffs. In the Eastern Conference finals, the Dream went on to eliminate the top-seeded Indiana Fever

Indiana Fever

in three games.

Minnesota Lynx

Though they had not previously won a playoff series in franchise history, the Minnesota Lynx

Minnesota Lynx

entered the season with a significant amount of buzz after drafting Maya Moore

Maya Moore

Maya April Moore is an American basketball forward for the Minnesota Lynx of the WNBA and Ros Casares Valencia of Euroleague. Moore was the winner of the 2006 and 2007 Naismith Prep Player of the Year. She was selected as the John Wooden Award winner in 2009 after leading Connecticut to the...

first overall in the 2011 WNBA Draft

2011 WNBA Draft

The 2011 WNBA Draft is the league's annual process for determining which teams receive the rights to negotiate with players entering the league. The draft was held on April 11, 2011 at the ESPN studios in Bristol, Connecticut...

. The addition of Moore, along with the full recovery of Seimone Augustus

Seimone Augustus

Seimone Augustus is an American professional basketball player in the WNBA, currently playing for the Minnesota Lynx, WBC Spartak Moscow Region and the US national team...

from abdominal surgery, was seen as the final piece that could propel the Lynx from perennial also-ran status to a potential playoff run. The Lynx ultimately finished with the best record in the WNBA and in franchise history, finishing the regular season with a 27–7 record. As the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference

Western Conference (WNBA)

, the Lynx eliminated the No. 4 seeded San Antonio Silver Stars

San Antonio Silver Stars

The San Antonio Silver Stars are a professional basketball team based in San Antonio, Texas, playing in the Western Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association . The team was founded in Salt Lake City, Utah before the league's inaugural 1997 season began; the team moved to San Antonio...

in three games during the conference semifinals of the playoffs. In the Western Conference finals, the Lynx went on to eliminate the Phoenix Mercury

Phoenix Mercury

in two games.

Series summary

Game	Date	Home team	Result	Road team
Game 1	Sunday, October 2	Minnesota Lynx	88–74 (1–0)	Atlanta Dream
Game 2	Wednesday, October 5	Minnesota Lynx	101–95 (2–0)	Atlanta Dream
Game 3	Friday, October 7	Atlanta Dream	67–73 (0–3)	Minnesota Lynx

All times are in Eastern Daylight Time
Eastern Time Zone
The Eastern Time Zone of the United States and Canada is a time zone that falls mostly along the east coast of North America. Its UTC time offset is −5 hrs during standard time and −4 hrs during daylight saving time...

(UTC−4).

Game 1

Rebekkah Brunson

Rebekkah Brunson is a basketball player playing forward for the WNBA's Minnesota Lynx. Previously, Brunson played for the Georgetown University women's basketball team....

had 26 points and 11 rebounds and Seimone Augustus added 22 points to lead the Lynx to an 88-74 victory over the Dream.

Lindsay Whalen

Lindsay Whalen

Lindsay Marie Whalen is an American professional basketball player for the Minnesota Lynx in the WNBA. She began her pro career as a point guard for the Connecticut Sun...

added 15 points and six assists and the Lynx turned a close game into a runaway with a 13-0 run to open the fourth quarter. Taj McWilliams-Franklin added eight points and 10 boards while battling an illness.

Angel McCoughtry

Angel McCoughtry

scored 19 of her 33 points in the third quarter and Lindsey Harding

Lindsey Harding

scored 20 points for the Dream.

Atlanta led by 12 points midway through the second quarter and three at halftime. The Lynx evened the score after three quarters at 62 each. With starting center Erika de Souza

Erika de Souza

Érika Cristina de Souza is a Brazilian professional women's basketball player with the Atlanta Dream of the WNBA in the United States. Prior to joining the Dream for their inaugural 2008 season, DeSouza was a member of the Los Angeles Sparks in 2002, with whom she played in 11 games...

missing the game while playing for Brazil in an Olympic qualifying tournament, the Dream were outrebounded 40-28 and outscored in the paint 52-30.

The Lynx blocked a WNBA finals record 11 shots and held Atlanta to 37 percent shooting in their first finals game in franchise history.

The crowd of 15,258 was the second-largest in franchise history.

Game 2

Seimone Augustus

Seimone Augustus is an American professional basketball player in the WNBA, currently playing for the Minnesota Lynx, WBC Spartak Moscow Region and the US national team...

scored 36 points to lead Minnesota's second-half surge, and the Lynx beat the Atlanta Dream

Atlanta Dream

101-95 in Game 2 of the league championship series.

Jessica Adair

Jessica Adair

Jessica Elizabeth Adair is an American professional basketball player in the WNBA, currently playing for the Minnesota Lynx.-Personal:...

added 13 points in 18 minutes in a reserve role for the Lynx, who took a 2-0 lead in the best-of-five matchup by overcoming 38 points by the Dream's Angel McCoughtry

Angel McCoughtry

, who broke her own finals scoring record of 35, set against the Seattle Storm

Seattle Storm

in 2010

2010 WNBA Finals

The 2010 WNBA Finals was the championship series of the 2010 season of the Women's National Basketball Association and the conclusion of the season's playoffs...

.

With veteran center Taj McWilliams-Franklin on the bench with a sprained right knee, WNBA Rookie of the Year Maya Moore

Maya Moore

sitting for most of the game in foul trouble and fellow All-Star Rebekkah Brunson

Rebekkah Brunson

Rebekkah Brunson is a basketball player playing forward for the WNBA's Minnesota Lynx. Previously, Brunson played for the Georgetown University women's basketball team....

having a quiet game, Augustus took over.

The Lynx took a 77-76 lead early in the fourth, their first edge since 20-19, and used a 10-0 spurt to turn an 85-81 deficit with five minutes to go into a comfortable lead in the closing minutes.

McCoughtry had 24 points in the first half on 8 for 9 shooting, but she shot just 2 for 13 after halftime. Atlanta criticized the officiating of Sue Blauch, Lamont Simpson and Kurt Walker, noting that the Lynx had received 33 foul calls to 23 for Atlanta.

Iziane Castro Marques

Iziane Castro Marques

Iziane "Izi" Castro Marques is a Brazilian professional basketball player. The six-foot forward is a mainstay of the Brazil women's national basketball team, and a starting small forward on the Atlanta Dream of the WNBA.The undrafted Castro Marques was signed by the Miami Sol as a free agent out...

was twice fouled while taking a 3-pointer and made only one of those six free-throw attempts. Lindsey Harding

Lindsey Harding

had 10 of her 14 points in the first half for the Dream. Erika de Souza

Erika de Souza

finished with eight points and 10 rebounds.

Game 3

Seimone Augustus

Seimone Augustus is an American professional basketball player in the WNBA, currently playing for the Minnesota Lynx, WBC Spartak Moscow Region and the US national team...

and the Minnesota Lynx

Minnesota Lynx

turned up the defensive pressure on Angel McCoughtry

Angel McCoughtry

and the Atlanta Dream

Atlanta Dream

.

Augustus had 16 points and Maya Moore

Maya Moore

, returning to her Atlanta home, had 15–including a key 3-pointer late in the game–to lead a balanced scoring attack as the Lynx won their first WNBA title.

McCoughtry had a game-high 22 points, including nine in the fourth quarter. McCoughtry made only 9 of 25 shots as the Dream were held to 34.6 percent shooting from the field.

Erika de Souza

Erika de Souza

, who had 11 points, was Atlanta's only other scorer in double figures.

Minnesota had four scorers in double figures as Rebekkah Brunson

Rebekkah Brunson

Rebekkah Brunson is a basketball player playing forward for the WNBA's Minnesota Lynx. Previously, Brunson played for the Georgetown University women's basketball team....

had 13 points and nine rebounds and Candice Wiggins

Candice Wiggins

Candice Dana Wiggins is American basketball guard for the Minnesota Lynx of the WNBA. She previously played for the Stanford University women's basketball team where she is the all-time leading scorer in Stanford women's basketball history and in the Pac-10 Conference women's basketball history....

had 10 points.

Poor shooting from the field forced Atlanta to foul in the final minute.

Two free throws by Taj McWilliams-Franklin and another by Lindsay Whalen

Lindsay Whalen

Lindsay Marie Whalen is an American professional basketball player for the Minnesota Lynx in the WNBA. She began her pro career as a point guard for the Connecticut Sun...

pushed the lead to 67-63. Following a miss by Izi Castro Marques, McWilliams-Franklin added two more free throws with 35 seconds remaining.

McCoughtry had two late layups, but the Dream could come no closer than four points in the final 30 seconds.

Seimone Augustus

Seimone Augustus

Seimone Augustus is an American professional basketball player in the WNBA, currently playing for the Minnesota Lynx, WBC Spartak Moscow Region and the US national team...

was named Finals MVP, averaging 24.7 points, 5.7 rebounds, 4.7 assists per game in the series and shooting 58.7% (27–46) from the floor.

Awards

2011 WNBA Champions: Minnesota Lynx
Minnesota Lynx
The Minnesota Lynx are a professional basketball team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, playing in the Western Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association . The team was founded prior to the 1999 season...
Finals MVP
WNBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award
The Women's National Basketball Association Finals Most Valuable Player is an annual Women's National Basketball Association award given since the league's inaugural season....

: Seimone Augustus
Seimone Augustus
Seimone Augustus is an American professional basketball player in the WNBA, currently playing for the Minnesota Lynx, WBC Spartak Moscow Region and the US national team...

Rosters

{| class="toccolours" style="font-size: 85%; width: 100%;"
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! colspan="2" style="background-color: #054EA4; color: #D3D3D3; text-align: center;" | 2011 Minnesota Lynx Finals roster
|- style="background-color: #3CBC71;color: #FFFFFF; text-align: center;"
! Players !! Coaches
|-
| valign="top" |
{| class="sortable" style="background:transparent; margin:0px; width:100%;"
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|-
{| class="toccolours" style="font-size: 85%; width: 100%;"
|-
! colspan="2" style="background-color: #6495ED; color: white; text-align: center;" | 2011 Atlanta Dream Finals roster
|- style="background-color: #FF0000;color: white; text-align: center;"
! Players !! Coaches
|-
| valign="top" |
{| class="sortable" style="background:transparent; margin:0px; width:100%;"
! Pos. !! # !! Nat. !! Name !!class="unsortable"| !!class="unsortable"| !! Height !!class="unsortable"| !! Weight !!class="unsortable"| !! class="unsortable"| !! DOB !!class="unsortable"| !!class="unsortable"| !! From !! Yrs
|-

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