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WNBA Minnesota Lynx

Lynx to Have Four All-Stars for the First Time in Franchise History

July 19, 2011 - Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA)
Minnesota Lynx News Release


MINNEAPOLIS/ST. PAUL - The WNBA tonight named Lynx players Seimone Augustus, Rebekkah Brunson and Lindsay Whalen as reserves on the Western Conference All-Star Team. They will be joined on the team by teammate Maya Moore, who was voted in by the fans as a starter. This year marks the first time in franchise history the Lynx have had more than two representatives on an All-Star Team. Minnesota becomes the first team since Connecticut in 2006 and the fifth team all-time (1999, New York; 2005, Detroit; 2006, Houston) to have four or more All-Stars. The 2011 WNBA All-Star Game presented by adidas will be nationally broadcast on ABC, Saturday, July 23 at 2:30 p.m. CT from San Antonio.

Augustus, two years removed from ACL surgery, earns the third All-Star appearance of her six-year career and first since 2008. Second among all active players in career scoring average (19.9 ppg), Augustus is averaging a team-leading 15.2 points, 3.9 rebounds and 1.8 assists in 29.3 minutes per game in 13 starts this season. Augustus, a two-time All-WNBA performer (2006, 2007), is shooting .466 percent from the field, including a .389 percent clip from beyond the arc. She ranks 8th in the WNBA in field goals made (81), 14th in free-throw percentage (.879) and 16th in points per game. She has led the Lynx in scoring six times, and has scored 20-or-more points twice. In Minnesota's nine wins this season, Augustus is shooting .509 percent (58-for-114) from the floor, compared to .383 percent (23-for-60) in four losses. With 1,118 career field goals, Augustus, the No. 1 overall pick of the Lynx in the 2006 WNBA Draft, is just 10 field goals shy of passing Katie Smith for the Lynx franchise record for career field goals.

The Western Conference Player of the Month for June and the conference's reigning Player of the Week, Brunson will make her second trip to the All-Star Game (2007 - sat out due to injury), and first with the Lynx. Through 13 games this season, all starts, Brunson is averaging 13.3 points, 11.2 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game while shooting .584 percent from the field -- all career highs. Her 11.2 rebounds per game and .584 field goal percentage lead the WNBA, and she ranks second with eight double-doubles (recording a league-record-tying six consecutive double-doubles to begin the season). Brunson has hauled in double-digit rebounds in all but four games this season, including posting five games of 14-or-more rebounds. Brunson is on pace for 381 rebounds, which would rank second all-time in the WNBA (398 - Tina Charles, 2010).

Whalen earns her second trip to the All-Star Game (2006), and first in a Lynx uniform. In 13 contests, Whalen, in her eighth year in the WNBA, is averaging 13.8 points, 3.1 rebounds and a career-best 5.8 assists per game. A year after shooting just .410 percent from the floor, Whalen has upped her field goal percentage this season to a career-best .516, good for first among all guards and 10th overall. She is ranked second in the league in assists per game and third in total assists (75). Whalen is on pace for 197 assists, which would break her franchise and career high of 184, set last season. Whalen has dished out five-or-more assists nine times this season and has scored in double-figures in 12 of 13 games.

Rounding out the Western Conference reserves are Danielle Adams and Becky Hammon of San Antonio, and the Phoenix Mercury's Penny Taylor. Reserves on the Eastern Conference squad include Essence Carson (New York), Crystal Langhorne (Washington), Sylvia Fowles (Chicago), Renee Montgomery (Connecticut), Epiphanny Prince (Chicago) and Courtney Vandersloot (Chicago). The reserves were selected by the league's 12 head coaches. Coaches were not permitted to vote for players on their own team, and selected reserves by voting for six players within their own conference, including two guards, two forwards, one center and one player regardless of position.

Starters for the Western Conference, as voted in by the fans, are: Sue Bird (Seattle), Diana Taurasi (Phoenix), Moore (Minnesota), Swin Cash (Seattle) and Candace Parker (Los Angeles). Starters for the Eastern Conference are: Cappie Pondexter (New York), Katie Douglas (Indiana), Tamika Catchings (Indiana), Angel McCoughtry (Atlanta) and Tina Charles (Connecticut).

After defeating the defending champion Seattle Storm on Saturday, the Lynx are off to their best start in franchise history at 9-4. In a battle for first place in the Western Conference, the Lynx will take on the Phoenix Mercury tomorrow at U.S. Airways Center. Tip is set for 2:30 pm CT. The game will be carried live on FS North and NBA TV.

Minnesota will return home on Tuesday, July 26 to face the Los Angeles Sparks at Target Center. Lower-level single-game tickets for that game and the remaining home schedule can be purchased for as low as $10. Groups of 10 or more can purchase lower-level single-game tickets for as little as $8. Tickets can be purchased by calling 612-673-8400, visiting the Lynx website at www.lynxbasketball.com and stopping by the Target Center Box Office and all Ticketmaster outlets. Tickets can also be purchased by calling Ticketmaster at 1-877-WNBA-TIX (962-2849).

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