2012 Minnesota Lynx season

2012 Minnesota Lynx season
Coach	Cheryl Reeve
Arena	Target Center
Attendance	9,683 per game
Results
Record	27–7 (.794)
Place	1st (Western)
Playoff finish	Lost WNBA Finals
Team Leaders
Points	Augustus (16.8)
Rebounds	Brunson (8.90)
Assists	Whalen (5.4)
Media
Radio	KLCI
Television	FS-N ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, NBATV
← 2011 season 2013 season →

The 2012 Minnesota Lynx season was the 14th season for the Minnesota Lynx of the Women's National Basketball Association, and the 3rd season under head coach Cheryl Reeve.

The Lynx were 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.

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

Additions Player Signed Former team Erin Thorn February 12, 2012 Chicago Sky Devereaux Peters April 16, 2012 draft pick Julie Wojta July 10, 2012 free agent

Subtractions Player Left New team Alexis Hornbuckle February 2, 2012 Phoenix Mercury Charde Houston February 28, 2012 Phoenix Mercury Julie Wojta August 19, 2012 free agent

Roster

2012 Minnesota Lynx roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. No. Nat. Name Height Weight DOB From Yrs C 1 Adair, Jessica 6' 4" (1.93m) 197 lb (89kg) 1986-12-19 George Washington 2 G/F 33 Augustus, Seimone 6' 0" (1.83m) 165 lb (75kg) 1984-04-30 LSU 6 F 32 Brunson, Rebekkah 6' 2" (1.88m) 184 lb (83kg) 1981-12-11 Georgetown 8 F 6 Harris, Amber 6' 5" (1.96m) 202 lb (92kg) 1988-01-16 Xavier 1 F/C 8 McWilliams-Franklin, Taj 6' 2" (1.88m) 195 lb (88kg) 1970-08-20 St. Edward's 13 F 23 Moore, Maya 6' 0" (1.83m) 175 lb (79kg) 1989-06-11 Connecticut 1 F 14 Peters, Devereaux 6' 2" (1.88m) 170 lb (77kg) 1989-10-08 Notre Dame R G 5 Thorn, Erin 5' 9" (1.75m) 145 lb (66kg) 1981-05-19 BYU 9 G 13 Whalen, Lindsay 5' 9" (1.75m) 160 lb (73kg) 1982-05-09 Minnesota 8 G 11 Wiggins, Candice 5' 11" (1.8m) 147 lb (67kg) 1987-02-14 Stanford 4 G/F 22 Wright, Monica 5' 10" (1.78m) 171 lb (78kg) 1988-07-15 Virginia 2	Head coach Cheryl Reeve (La Salle) Assistant coaches Shelley Patterson (Washington State) Jim Petersen (Minnesota) Athletic trainer Chuck Barta (UW–La Crosse) Assistant trainer Keith Uzpen (Minnesota State) Legend (C) Team captain (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (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 v t e	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Conf.
Minnesota Lynx z	27	7	.794	–	16–1	11–6	17–5
Los Angeles Sparks x	24	10	.706	3.0	16–1	8–9	15–7
San Antonio Silver Stars x	21	13	.618	6.0	12–5	9–8	14–8
Seattle Storm x	16	18	.471	11.0	10–7	6–11	11–11
Tulsa Shock o	9	25	.265	18.0	6–11	3–14	5–17
Phoenix Mercury o	7	27	.206	20.0	3–14	4–13	4–18

Schedule

Preseason

2012 Game Log: Preseason (May) Game Date Time (ET) Opponent TV Score High points High rebounds High assists Location/Attendance Record 1 Thu 10 7:00 @ Connecticut CPTV-S 87-85 Augustus (12) Peters Wojta (7) Whalen (5) Mohegan Sun Arena 4,835 1-0 2 Tue 15 1:00 Chicago 82-61 Wright (14) Brunson (7) Whalen (8) University of Minnesota 4,102 2-0

Regular season

2012 Game Log: Regular Season
May (5–0) Game Date Time (ET) Opponent TV Score High points High rebounds High assists Location/Attendance Record 1 Sun 20 12:30 Phoenix ABC 105-83 Augustus (19) Brunson (9) McWilliams-Franklin Whalen Wright (5) Target Center 12,611 1-0 2 Tue 22 7:00 @ New York 80-62 Augustus (22) McWilliams-Franklin (11) Moore (7) Prudential Center 5,411 2-0 3 Thu 24 8:00 Los Angeles 92-84 Augustus (25) McWilliams-Franklin (8) McWilliams-Franklin (4) Target Center 7,923 3-0 4 Sun 27 7:00 Seattle FS-N 84-71 Moore (19) Brunson (7) Whalen (8) Target Center 7,832 4-0 5 Wed 30 7:00 @ Washington CSN-MA 79-77 Brunson Moore (16) Brunson (9) Whalen (7) Verizon Center 8,131 5-0
June (8–1) Game Date Time (ET) Opponent TV Score High points High rebounds High assists Location/Attendance Record 6 Fri 1 7:00 @ Connecticut CPTV-S 85-72 Augustus (23) Brunson (13) Whalen (8) Mohegan Sun Arena 7,249 6-0 7 Sun 3 7:00 San Antonio FS-N FS-SW 83-79 Brunson Moore (17) Brunson Whalen (8) Whalen (7) Target Center 7,942 7-0 8 Wed 6 8:00 Seattle 79-55 McWilliams-Franklin (17) Wiggins (6) Whalen (5) Target Center 8,263 8-0 9 Sat 9 8:00 @ Tulsa 93-73 Moore (26) Brunson McWilliams-Franklin (6) Whalen (10) BOK Center 5,113 9-0 10 Fri 15 10:00 @ Phoenix 78-60 Whalen (29) Harris Moore (7) Augustus Wright (3) US Airways Center 7,394 10-0 11 Sun 17 9:00 @ Seattle 62-65 Moore (14) Brunson (11) Brunson McWilliams-Franklin Whalen (4) KeyArena 8,349 10-1 12 Thu 21 8:00 New York 102-70 Augustus (26) Brunson Moore (10) Augustus (8) Target Center 9,050 11-1 13 Sat 23 12:30 Chicago ESPN 79-67 Whalen (25) Brunson (7) Whalen (8) Target Center 9,267 12-1 14 Wed 27 8:00 Phoenix FS-N 96-80 Augustus Brunson (16) Brunson (13) Moore Whalen (6) Target Center 9,674 13-1
July (2–3) Game Date Time (ET) Opponent TV Score High points High rebounds High assists Location/Attendance Record 15 Sun 1 3:00 @ San Antonio 84-93 Wright (18) Brunson (10) Brunson (4) AT&T Center 6,568 13-2 16 Thu 5 3:00 @ Los Angeles NBATV TWC101 90-96 Augustus (18) Brunson McWilliams-Franklin (9) McWilliams-Franklin (6) Staples Center 11,256 13-3 17 Sat 7 8:00 Connecticut FS-N CPTV-S 80-86 Moore (19) Brunson McWilliams-Franklin (8) Whalen (5) Target Center 10,882 13-4 18 Tue 10 12:30 @ Tulsa 107-86 Wiggins (25) McWilliams-Franklin (8) Whalen (7) BOK Center 6,012 14-4 19 Thu 12 12:00 Tulsa FS-N 89-72 Moore (28) McWilliams-Franklin (12) Whalen (8) Target Center 15,318 15-4 Summer Olympic break
August (6–0) Game Date Time (ET) Opponent TV Score High points High rebounds High assists Location/Attendance Record Summer Olympic break 20 Fri 17 8:00 Washington NBATV 98-69 Augustus (20) Brunson (7) Whalen (9) Target Center 10,933 16-4 21 Sun 19 7:00 Tulsa 83-59 Moore (22) Moore (10) Moore (6) Target Center 10,223 17-4 22 Tue 21 10:00 @ Seattle ESPN2 86-73 Augustus (22) Brunson (14) Whalen (9) KeyArena 6,169 18-4 23 Sat 25 7:00 @ Atlanta ESPN2 84-74 Augustus (23) Brunson (13) Whalen (8) Philips Arena 7,224 19-4 24 Tue 28 8:00 San Antonio NBATV 96-84 (OT) Augustus McWilliams-Franklin (19) Brunson (20) Whalen (8) Target Center 8,532 20-4 25 Fri 31 8:00 Tulsa NBATV 92-83 Brunson Moore Whalen (19) Brunson (11) Moore (8) Target Center 9,213 21-4
September (6-3) Game Date Time (ET) Opponent TV Score High points High rebounds High assists Location/Attendance Record 26 Tue 4 8:00 Los Angeles NBATV 88-77 Augustus Moore (23) Moore (9) McWilliams-Franklin (5) Target Center 8,123 22-4 27 Fri 7 8:00 Atlanta FS-N SSO 97-93 (2OT) Moore (23) Brunson (18) Whalen (5) Target Center 9,308 23-4 28 Sun 9 3:00 @ San Antonio NBATV 81-62 Moore (18) Brunson Moore (12) Moore (6) AT&T Center 6,025 24-4 29 Tue 11 8:00 @ Chicago CN100 70-83 Moore (18) Brunson Wright (5) Moore (7) Allstate Arena 4,296 24-5 30 Fri 14 7:00 @ Indiana 66-64 Moore (15) Moore (7) Moore (5) Bankers Life Fieldhouse 8,819 25-5 31 Mon 17 8:00 Indiana NBATV FS-N FS-I 86-79 Moore (29) Whalen (8) Whalen (6) Target Center 9,523 26-5 32 Thu 20 10:30 @ Los Angeles NBATV TWC101 76-92 Wright (19) Peters (13) Thorn (5) Staples Center 10,217 26-6 33 Fri 21 10:00 @ Phoenix NBATV FS-N 89-66 Moore (21) Peters (9) Peters (6) US Airways Center 7,217 27-6 34 Sun 23 3:00 @ San Antonio 84-99 Augustus (18) Peters (10) Whalen (5) AT&T Center 8,084 27-7
All games are viewable on WNBA LiveAccess or ESPN3.com

Postseason

2012 Game Log: Postseason
Western Conference Semifinals Game Date Time (ET) Opponent TV Score High points High rebounds High assists Location/Attendance Series 1 September 28 9:00 Seattle ESPN2 78-70 Whalen (20) Brunson (11) Whalen (6) Target Center 9,213 1-0 2 September 30 9:00 @ Seattle ESPN 79-86 (2OT) Brunson (20) Brunson(15) Whalen (5) KeyArena 8,479 1-1 3 October 2 9:00 Seattle ESPN2 73-72 Augustus (21) Brunson (9) McWilliams-Franklin (4) Target Center 8,023 2-1
Western Conference Finals Game Date Time (ET) Opponent TV Score High points High rebounds High assists Location/Attendance Series 1 October 4 8:00 Los Angeles ESPN2 94-77 Moore (20) Brunson (10) Augustus (7) Target Center 8,513 1-0 2 October 7 3:30 @ Los Angeles ABC 80-79 Augustus (21) Brunson (10) McWilliams-Franklin Whalen (5) Staples Center 10,791 2-0
WNBA Finals Game Date Time (ET) Opponent TV Score High points High rebounds High assists Location/Attendance Series 1 October 14 8:00 Indiana ESPN2 70-76 Augustus (23) Brunson Moore (10) Whalen (4) Target Center 14,322 0-1 2 October 17 8:00 Indiana ESPN 83-71 Augustus (27) Brunson (7) McWilliams-Franklin Moore Whalen (4) Target Center 13,478 1-1 3 October 19 8:00 @ Indiana ESPN2 59-76 Brunson (12) Brunson (9) Wiggins (3) Bankers Life Fieldhouse 18,165 1-2 4 October 21 8:00 @ Indiana ESPN2 78-87 Whalen (22) Augustus (7) Whalen (8) Bankers Life Fieldhouse 15,213 1-3

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	19	0	8.8	.351	.000	.571	2.10	0.3	0.30	0.21	2.4
Seimone Augustus	29	29	28.5	.491	.437	.852	3.60	2.5	0.93	0.21	16.6
Rebekkah Brunson	31	31	27.0	.505	.000	.679	8.90	1.2	1.19	0.94	11.4
Amber Harris	27	0	8.9	.404	.389	.682	1.90	0.6	0.33	0.48	3.5
Taj McWilliams-Franklin	33	33	26.6	.519	.400	.750	5.40	2.5	1.03	1.39	8.4
Maya Moore	34	34	29.7	.465	.388	.879	6.00	3.6	1.47	0.65	16.4
Devereaux Peters	30	2	14.1	.560	.000	.706	3.80	1.1	0.47	0.77	5.3
Erin Thorn	26	0	7.5	.362	.353	1.000	0.90	0.9	0.15	0.00	2.0
Lindsay Whalen	33	33	27.0	.505	.500	.727	4.20	5.4	0.70	0.18	11.5
Candice Wiggins	34	1	21.8	.360	.397	.865	2.10	2.0	0.71	0.12	6.8
Julie Wojta	1	0	4.0	.000	.000	.000	2.00	0.0	0.00	0.00	0.0
Monica Wright	34	7	19.4	.458	.364	.740	2.40	1.9	1.03	0.18	8.6

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 August 20, 2012. Retrieved August 20, 2012.
3. "Minnesota 97, Atlanta 93 (2OT)". Archived from the original on September 5, 2012. Retrieved September 8, 2012.