2013 WNBA Finals

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2013 WNBA Finals
2013 WNBA Finals Logo.png
Team Coach Wins
Minnesota Lynx Cheryl Reeve 3
Atlanta Dream Fred Williams 0
Dates: October 6–10
MVP: Maya Moore Minnesota
Television: ESPN, ESPN2 (HD)
Announcers: Ryan Ruocco, Rebecca Lobo
Referees:
  Game 1: Michael Price, Cameron Inouye, Kurt Walker
  Game 2: Eric Brewton, Sue Blauch, Daryl Humphrey
  Game 3: Lamont Simpson, Denise Brooks, Brenda Pantoja
East Finals: Atlanta defeated Indiana, 2-0
West Finals: Minnesota defeated Phoenix, 2–0
WNBA Finals

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2014 →

Game 1 of the 2013 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.

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

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# 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

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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

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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

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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:

July 9, 2013
Atlanta Dream 72, Minnesota Lynx 94
August 20, 2013
Minnesota Lynx 75, Atlanta Dream 88

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 Augusuts 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
Target Center, Minneapolis, MN
Attendance: 12,313
Referees: Eric Brewton, Sue Blauch, Daryl Humphrey

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
Players Coaches
Pos. # Nat. Name Height Weight DOB From
G/F 33 United States Augustus, Seimone 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 165 lb (75 kg) 04-30-1984 LSU
F 32 United States Brunson, Rebekkah 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 184 lb (83 kg) 12-11-1981 Georgetown
F 11 United States Harris, Amber 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 202 lb (92 kg) 01-16-1988 Xavier
G 12 Australia Jarry, Rachel 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 176 lb (80 kg) 12-06-1991 Australia
C 4 United States McCarville, Janel 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 11-03-1982 Minnesota
G 00 United States Moore, Lindsey 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) 153 lb (69 kg) 06-03-1991 Nebraska
F 23 United States Moore, Maya 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 06-11-1989 Connecticut
F 14 United States Peters, Devereaux 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 170 lb (77 kg) 10-08-1989 Notre Dame
G 15 United States Rodgers, Sugar 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) 160 lb (73 kg) 12-08-1989 Georgetown
G 13 United States Whalen, Lindsay 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) 160 lb (73 kg) 05-09-1982 Minnesota
G/F 22 United States Wright, Monica 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 171 lb (78 kg) 07-15-1988 Virginia
Head coach
United States Cheryl Reeve (La Salle)
Assistant coaches
United States Shelley Patterson (Washington State)
United States Jim Petersen (Minnesota)
Athletic trainer
United States Chuck Barta (Wisconsin-La Crosse)
Assistant trainer
United States Keith Uzpen (Minnesota State-Mankato)

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (IN) Inactive
  • (S) Suspended
  • Injured Injured
Atlanta Dream roster
Players Coaches
Pos. # Nat. Name Height Weight DOB From
G 2 United States Bentley, Alex 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m) 152 lb (69 kg) 10-27-1990 Penn State
G 54 United States Clements, Courtney 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 155 lb (70 kg) 11-12-1989 San Diego State
F/C 14 Brazil de Souza, Erika 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 03-03-1982 Brazil
G 15 United States Hayes, Tiffany 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 155 lb (70 kg) 09-20-1989 Connecticut
F 13 Jamaica Henry, Aneika 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 02-13-1986 Florida
G/F 22 United States Herrington, Armintie 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) 133 lb (60 kg) 04-03-1985 Mississippi
C 11 Belarus Leuchanka, Yelena 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 04-30-1983 West Virginia
F 20 Spain Lyttle, Sancho Injured 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 09-20-1983 Houston
F 35 United States McCoughtry, Angel 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 160 lb (73 kg) 09-10-1986 Louisville
F/C 00 United States Riley, Ruth 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 198 lb (90 kg) 11-28-1979 Notre Dame
G 5 United States Thomas, Jasmine 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) 145 lb (66 kg) 09-30-1989 Duke
F 43 United States Willingham, Le'Coe 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 02-10-1981 Auburn
Head coach
United States Fred Williams (Boise State)
Assistant coaches
United States Joe Ciampi (Mansfield)
United States Julie Plank (Ohio State)
Athletic trainer
United States Kim Mosely (Southern Mississippi)
Strength and conditioning coach
United States Dustin Wolf (Tennessee)

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

References