2013 WNBA Finals
The 2013 WNBA Finals was the playoff series for the 2013 season of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA), and the conclusion of the season's playoffs.[1] The Minnesota Lynx, champions of the Western Conference, defeated the Atlanta Dream, champions of the Eastern Conference.
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| Dates | October 6–10 | |||||||||
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| MVP | Maya Moore Minnesota | |||||||||
| Eastern Finals | Atlanta defeated Indiana, 2–0 | |||||||||
| Western Finals | Minnesota defeated Phoenix, 2–0 | |||||||||
The WNBA Finals were under a 2–2–1 rotation. The Lynx held home-court advantage as they had a better regular season record (26–8) than the Dream (17–17). The meeting is a rematch of the 2011 WNBA Finals, in which the Lynx defeated the Dream in three games.
The Lynx won the first game of the series 84–59, and the second 88–63.[2] They finished the sweep with an 86–77 win in Atlanta, becoming the second WNBA team to sweep through the playoffs since the best-of-five finals format was adopted.
Background
2013 WNBA regular season
| # | Eastern Conference | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | W | L | PCT | GB | GP | |
| 1 | z-Chicago Sky | 24 | 10 | .706 | - | 34 |
| 2 | x-Atlanta Dream | 17 | 17 | .500 | 7 | 34 |
| 3 | x-Washington Mystics | 17 | 17 | .500 | 7 | 34 |
| 4 | x-Indiana Fever | 16 | 18 | .471 | 8 | 34 |
| 5 | e-New York Liberty | 11 | 23 | .324 | 13 | 34 |
| 6 | e-Connecticut Sun | 10 | 24 | .294 | 14 | 34 |
| # | Western Conference | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | W | L | PCT | GB | GP | |
| 1 | z-Minnesota Lynx | 26 | 8 | .765 | - | 34 |
| 2 | x-Los Angeles Sparks | 24 | 10 | .706 | 2 | 34 |
| 3 | x-Phoenix Mercury | 19 | 15 | .559 | 7 | 34 |
| 4 | x-Seattle Storm | 17 | 17 | .500 | 9 | 34 |
| 5 | e-San Antonio Silver Stars | 12 | 22 | .353 | 14 | 34 |
| 6 | e-Tulsa Shock | 11 | 23 | .324 | 15 | 34 |
2013 WNBA Playoffs
| Minnesota Lynx | Atlanta Dream | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 26–8 (.765) 1st West, 1st overall |
Seeding | 17–17 (.500) 2nd East, 6th overall | |
| Defeated the (4) Seattle Storm, 2–0 | Conference Semifinals | Defeated the (3) Washington Mystics, 2–1 | |
| Defeated the (3) Phoenix Mercury, 2–0 | Conference Finals | Defeated the (4) Indiana Fever, 2–0 | |
Atlanta Dream
The Atlanta Dream finished 17-17, good for second place in the Eastern Conference. They defeated the Washington Mystics in three games in the conference semifinals, and swept fourth-seeded Indiana, the defending WNBA champions, who had upset the top seed, the Chicago Sky, in the first round.
The Dream featured Angel McCoughtry, who won her second consecutive scoring title in 2013, as well as Brazilian center Erika de Souza. However, the Dream played the Finals without Sancho Lyttle, who had gone down with an injury during the season.
Minnesota Lynx
The Minnesota Lynx finished with the best record in the WNBA for the third straight year.. The Lynx swept both fourth-seeded Seattle and pre-season favorites Phoenix to win their third consecutive Western Conference crown.
The Lynx returned their core nucleus of Seimone Augustus, Rebekkah Brunson, Maya Moore, and Lindsay Whalen, all of whom played on the Lynx's 2011 championship team.
Regular-season series
The season series was tied, 1-1:
Series summary
- All times are in Eastern Daylight Time (UTC−4).
Game 1
The Minnesota Lynx came out determined not to lose game one at home as they had in the 2012 WNBA Finals. Maya Moore led the Lynx with 23 points, and Monica Wright added 20 off the bench as the Lynx cruised past the dream 84-59. Angel McCoughtry led the Dream with 17 points.[3]
October 6 8:30pm ET |
| Atlanta Dream 59, Minnesota Lynx 84 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 16–24, 9–20, 18–24, 16–16 | ||
| Pts: Angel McCoughtry 17 Rebs: Aneika Henry 14 Asts: Armintie Herrington 3 |
Pts: Maya Moore 23 Rebs: Rebekkah Brunson 8 Asts: Lindsay Whalen 5 | |
| Minnesota Leads Series 1–0 | ||
Target Center, Minneapolis, MN Attendance: 13,804 Referees: Michael Price, Cameron Inouye, Kurt Walker |
Game 2
The Lynx came out on fire in Game 2, opening up an 11-point lead after the first quarter that they would never relinquish. Seimone Augustus led the Lynx in scoring with 20 points, and all five starters finished the game in double figures. Angel McCoughtry was hampered by foul trouble throughout the night, and ultimately fouled out in the fourth quarter.[4]
October 8 8:00pm ET |
| Atlanta Dream 63, Minnesota Lynx 88 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 16-27, 20-24, 16-17, 11-20 | ||
| Pts: Angel McCoughtry 15 Rebs: Aneika Henry 6 Asts: Angel McCoughtry 4 |
Pts: Seimone Augustus 20 Rebs: Rebekkah Brunson 10 Asts: Lindsay Whalen 5 | |
| Minnesota Leads Series 2–0 | ||
Game 3
The Lynx opened up an 8-point lead at the end of the first quarter, but Atlanta battled back several times, cutting the lead to 3 at halftime. Ultimately, however, the balanced attack of Minnesota was simply too much for the Dream to overcome; the Lynx won 86–77, earning their second WNBA title in three years, and becoming the second WNBA team to sweep the playoffs. Maya Moore of the Lynx was named WNBA Finals MVP.[5][6]
October 10 8:30pm ET |
| Minnesota Lynx 86, Atlanta Dream 77 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 25–17, 15–20, 26–19, 20–21 | ||
| Pts: Maya Moore 23 Rebs: Rebekkah Brunson 12 Asts: Lindsay Whalen 6 |
Pts: Tiffany Hayes 20 Rebs: Érika de Souza 9 Asts: Alex Bentley 6 | |
| Minnesota Wins Series 3–0 | ||
Arena at Gwinnett Center, Duluth, GA Attendance: 5040 Referees: Lamont Simpson, Denise Brooks, Brenda Pantoja |
Rosters
| Minnesota Lynx roster | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Atlanta Dream roster | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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References
- WNBA.com
- Lynx rout Atlanta 84–59 in Game 1 of WNBA Finals
- "Moore leads Lynx past Dream 84–59 in Game 1". Archived from the original on 2013-10-06. Retrieved 2013-10-07.
- "WNBA Box Score, October 8, 2013". Archived from the original on October 11, 2013. Retrieved October 9, 2013.
- "Game Report, Minnesota at Atlanta". Archived from the original on 2013-10-11. Retrieved 2013-10-11.
- "Lynx sweep Dream, win second WNBA title in three seasons". ESPN. 10 October 2013. Retrieved 7 March 2014.