WNBA Minnesota Lynx

Minnesota Lynx Open 2004 WNBA Regular Season at Seattle Storm on Thursday, May 20

January 21, 2004 - Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA)
Minnesota Lynx News Release


Minneapolis/St. Paul – The Minnesota Lynx, entering their sixth WNBA season in the Twin Cities, kick off their 2004 regular season on Thursday, May 20 at 9:00 p.m. CDT at the Seattle Storm. The 2004 WNBA campaign will consist of a 34-game regular season (17 home/17 away) with the league stretching from May thru September. The WNBA will not play regular-season games from Aug. 2-31 in order to accommodate the approximately 30 WNBA players expected to represent their countries in the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece (Aug. 13-28).

Minnesota's 2004 home opener is slated for Friday, May 28 against the Washington Mystics at Target Center at 7:00 p.m. The Lynx open the 2004 campaign with their first three games on the road against Western Conference rivals: at Seattle (May 20), at Sacramento (May 22) and at San Antonio (May 26).

The Lynx will play four teams in the Western Conference four times apiece (Houston, Phoenix, Sacramento, and San Antonio), and play two teams in their conference (Los Angeles and Seattle) three times each. Minnesota will play each Eastern Conference team twice during the season.

The home portion of the team's schedule features 11 weekend dates (5 Friday, 3 Saturday, 3 Sunday) as well as four Wednesday games and two Thursday contests. For the third consecutive season, the Lynx will host one weekday afternoon game, a noon tipoff against the Connecticut Sun on Wednesday, July 14 at Target Center.

The Lynx' longest homestand is a four-game affair beginning May 28 versus Washington and concluding June 5 versus Phoenix. Minnesota embarks on two four-game road trips: July 15-23 (New York, Phoenix, Connecticut, Washington) and Sept. 11-19 (Charlotte, Houston, Los Angeles and Sacramento). The Lynx' regular season concludes with that final four-game road trip in September.

Highlights of the home schedule include a meeting against the defending WNBA Champion Detroit Shock on Saturday, July 3. The Houston Comets, featuring WNBA All-Stars Sheryl Swoopes, Tina Thompson and Cynthia Cooper, visit Target Center on two occasions: Saturday, June 19 and Wednesday, June 30. The Seattle Storm, led by reigning WNBA MVP Lauren Jackson and All-Star Sue Bird, play at Target Center on Friday, July 30 and Friday, Sept. 10.

Minnesota's lone nationally telecast game is scheduled for Thursday, July 22 at Connecticut on ESPN2 beginning at 7:00 p.m. CDT. The Lynx will also have six games telecast locally on Fox Sports Net. The local broadcast schedule will be released at a later date.

The final day of the 2004 WNBA regular season is Sept. 19, and the top four teams in each conference will advance to the playoffs. The first day of the WNBA Playoffs is scheduled for Sept. 24, and the WNBA Finals will run from Oct. 8-12.

In 2003, under first-year head coach Suzie McConnell Serio, the Lynx registered a franchise-best record of 18-16, and earned their first-ever WNBA Playoffs berth. Minnesota finished with a franchise-high 11-6 record at Target Center, including a club-record seven-game home winning streak. For information about Minnesota Lynx season tickets, please call 612-673-8400 or visit the Lynx website at www.lynxbasketball.com.

Key Facts About The 2004 Lynx Regular-Season Schedule

· By month, the schedule breaks down as follows: May (2 home, 3 away = 5 total), June (6 home, 3 away = 9 total), July (6 home, 5 away = 11 total), August (0 home, 1 away = 1 total), September (3 home, 5 away = 8 total). · By day, the schedule breaks down as follows: Tuesday (0 home, 2 away = 2 total), Wednesday (4 home, 2 away = 6 total), Thursday (2 home, 5 away = 7 total), Friday (5 home, 3 away = 8 total), Saturday (3 home, 2 away = 5 total), Sunday (3 home, 3 away = 6 total).

· Minnesota's lone nationally telecast game is scheduled for Thursday, July 22 at Connecticut and will be televised on ESPN2 beginning at 7:00 p.m. CDT.

· The Lynx open the 2004 WNBA regular season at Seattle on Thursday, May 20 at Key Arena. This is the first time the two clubs have met in a season opener. It is only the second time in six seasons that the Lynx have opened the year on the road. Minnesota opened the 2001 campaign on the road in Portland and defeated the Fire 82-65. Minnesota is 4-1 in season openers, including 3-1 in season openers at Target Center, with their lone loss a 79-75 overtime defeat versus Utah in 2002.

· The Lynx' longest homestand in 2004 is a four-game affair from May 28-June 5. During that span, the Lynx will host Washington, New York, San Antonio and Phoenix. The four-game homestand ties the longest in franchise history; the team had a pair of four-game affairs in 2000 (July 2-9 and July 31-Aug. 6) and one in 2003 (July 5-16).

· Minnesota departs on four sets of four-game road trips: July 15-23 (New York, Phoenix, Connecticut, Washington) and Sept. 11-19 (Charlotte, Houston, Los Angeles and Sacramento). The Lynx finish the regular season with six of their last nine games on the road.

· The Lynx play two sets of back-to-back games this season: July 8 (at Indiana) and July 9 (vs. Phoenix); July 14 (vs. Connecticut) and July 15 (at New York); July 22 (at Connecticut) and July 23 (at Washington); Aug. 10 (vs. Seattle) and Aug. 11 (at Charlotte). Last year, the team played in five sets of back-to-back contests, finishing 6-4 in those games.

· With the WNBA season being extended due to the Olympic Games, the 2004 campaign will mark the first time that the Lynx will play regular-season games in the month of September. Minnesota has three September home contests at Target Center: Sept. 3 vs. Indiana, Sept. 8 vs. Charlotte and Sept. 10 vs. Seattle.

· Three current Lynx players could potentially play in the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece: Katie Smith (United States), Kristi Harrower (Australia) and Svetlana Abrosimova (Russia).

Western Conference

Houston (H: 6/19, 6/30; A: 9/1, 9/14); Los Angeles (H: 6/27; A: 6/11, 9/17); Phoenix (H: 6/5, 7/9; A: 6/22, 7/18); Sacramento (H: 6/17, 7/11; A: 5/22, 9/19); San Antonio (H: 6/3, 7/28; A: 5/26, 6/24); Seattle (H: 7/30, 9/10; A: 5/20).

Eastern Conference

Charlotte (H: 9/8; A: 9/11); Connecticut (H: 7/14; A: 7/22); Detroit (H: 7/3: A: 8/1); Indiana (H: 9/3; A: 7/8); New York (H: 5/30; A: 7/15); Washington (H: 5/28; A: 7/23).

Minnesota Lynx
2004 Regular-Season Schedule

May Thu. 20 at Seattle 9:00 p.m.
Sat. 22 at Sacramento 9:00 p.m.
Wed. 26 WASHINGTON 7:00 p.m.
Fri. 28 San Antonio 7:00 p.m.
Sun. 30 at NEW YORK 5:00 p.m.
June Thu. 3 SAN ANTONIO 7:00 p.m.
Sat. 5 PHOENIX 7:00 p.m.
Fri. 11 at Los Angeles 9:30 p.m.
Thu. 17 SACRAMENTO 7:00 p.m.
Sat. 19 HOUSTON 7:00 p.m.
Tue. 22 at Phoenix 9:00 p.m.
Thu. 24 at San Antonio 7:00 p.m.
Sun. 27 LOS ANGELES 5:00 p.m.
Wed. 30 HOUSTON 7:00 p.m.

July Sat. 3 DETROIT 7:00 p.m.
Thu. 8 at Indiana 7:00 p.m.
Fri. 9 PHOENIX 7:00 p.m.
Sun. 11 SACRAMENTO 6:00 p.m.
Wed. 14 CONNECTICUT 12:00 p.m.
Thu. 15 at New York 6:30 p.m.
Sun. 18 at Phoenix 8:00 p.m.
Thu. 22 at Connecticut 7:00 p.m.*
Fri. 23 at Washington 6:00 p.m.
Wed. 28 SAN ANTONIO 7:00 p.m.
Fri. 30 SEATTLE 7:00 p.m.

August Sun. 1 at Detroit 5:00 p.m.

Sept. Wed. 1 at Houston 7:30 p.m.
Fri. 3 INDIANA 7:00 p.m.
Wed. 8 CHARLOTTE 7:00 p.m.
Fri. 10 SEATTLE 7:00 p.m.
Sat. 11 at Charlotte 5:00 p.m.
Tue. 14 at Houston 7:30 p.m.
Fri.Sun. 1719 atat Los AngelesSacramento 9:30 p.m. 9:00 p.m.

Home games in capital letters. All times Central.
*Nationally telecast on ESPN2

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Women's National Basketball Association Stories from January 21, 2004


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