# 2012 Minnesota Lynx season

The 2012 WNBA season is the 14th season for the Minnesota Lynx of the Women's National Basketball Association. 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 | Trade |
| February 2, 2012 | To Minnesota Lynx | To Phoenix Mercury |
| February 2, 2012 | Second-round pick in 2013 Draft | Alexis Hornbuckle |
| February 28, 2012 | To Minnesota Lynx | To Phoenix Mercury |
| February 28, 2012 | 18th pick in 2012 Draft | Charde Houston and 24th pick in 2012 Draft |

### Personnel changes
## Roster
### 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. 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. 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.
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 vte | 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)
GameDateTime (ET)OpponentTVScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation/AttendanceRecord
1Thu 107:00@ ConnecticutCPTV-S87-85Augustus (12)Peters Wojta (7)Whalen (5)Mohegan Sun Arena 4,8351-0
2Tue 151:00Chicago82-61Wright (14)Brunson (7)Whalen (8)University of Minnesota 4,1022-0 :

### Regular season

2012 Game Log: Regular Season :
May (5–0)
GameDateTime (ET)OpponentTVScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation/AttendanceRecord
1Sun 2012:30PhoenixABC105-83Augustus (19)Brunson (9)McWilliams-Franklin Whalen Wright (5)Target Center 12,6111-0
2Tue 227:00@ New York80-62Augustus (22)McWilliams-Franklin (11)Moore (7)Prudential Center 5,4112-0
3Thu 248:00Los Angeles92-84Augustus (25)McWilliams-Franklin (8)McWilliams-Franklin (4)Target Center 7,9233-0
4Sun 277:00SeattleFS-N84-71Moore (19)Brunson (7)Whalen (8)Target Center 7,8324-0
5Wed 307:00@ WashingtonCSN-MA79-77Brunson Moore (16)Brunson (9)Whalen (7)Verizon Center 8,1315-0 :
June (8–1)
GameDateTime (ET)OpponentTVScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation/AttendanceRecord
6Fri 17:00@ ConnecticutCPTV-S85-72Augustus (23)Brunson (13)Whalen (8)Mohegan Sun Arena 7,2496-0
7Sun 37:00San AntonioFS-N FS-SW83-79Brunson Moore (17)Brunson Whalen (8)Whalen (7)Target Center 7,9427-0
8Wed 68:00Seattle79-55McWilliams-Franklin (17)Wiggins (6)Whalen (5)Target Center 8,2638-0
9Sat 98:00@ Tulsa93-73Moore (26)Brunson McWilliams-Franklin (6)Whalen (10)BOK Center 5,1139-0
10Fri 1510:00@ Phoenix78-60Whalen (29)Harris Moore (7)Augustus Wright (3)US Airways Center 7,39410-0
11Sun 179:00@ Seattle62-65Moore (14)Brunson (11)Brunson McWilliams-Franklin Whalen (4)KeyArena 8,34910-1
12Thu 218:00New York102-70Augustus (26)Brunson Moore (10)Augustus (8)Target Center 9,05011-1
13Sat 2312:30ChicagoESPN79-67Whalen (25)Brunson (7)Whalen (8)Target Center 9,26712-1
14Wed 278:00PhoenixFS-N96-80Augustus Brunson (16)Brunson (13)Moore Whalen (6)Target Center 9,67413-1 :
July (2–3)
GameDateTime (ET)OpponentTVScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation/AttendanceRecord
15Sun 13:00@ San Antonio84-93Wright (18)Brunson (10)Brunson (4)AT&T Center 6,56813-2
16Thu 53:00@ Los AngelesNBATV TWC10190-96Augustus (18)Brunson McWilliams-Franklin (9)McWilliams-Franklin (6)Staples Center 11,25613-3
17Sat 78:00ConnecticutFS-N CPTV-S80-86Moore (19)Brunson McWilliams-Franklin (8)Whalen (5)Target Center 10,88213-4
18Tue 1012:30@ Tulsa107-86Wiggins (25)McWilliams-Franklin (8)Whalen (7)BOK Center 6,01214-4
19Thu 1212:00TulsaFS-N89-72Moore (28)McWilliams-Franklin (12)Whalen (8)Target Center 15,31815-4
Summer Olympic break :
August (6–0)
GameDateTime (ET)OpponentTVScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation/AttendanceRecord
Summer Olympic break
20Fri 178:00WashingtonNBATV98-69Augustus (20)Brunson (7)Whalen (9)Target Center 10,93316-4
21Sun 197:00Tulsa83-59Moore (22)Moore (10)Moore (6)Target Center 10,22317-4
22Tue 2110:00@ SeattleESPN286-73Augustus (22)Brunson (14)Whalen (9)KeyArena 6,16918-4
23Sat 257:00@ AtlantaESPN284-74Augustus (23)Brunson (13)Whalen (8)Philips Arena 7,22419-4
24Tue 288:00San AntonioNBATV96-84 (OT)Augustus McWilliams-Franklin (19)Brunson (20)Whalen (8)Target Center 8,53220-4
25Fri 318:00TulsaNBATV92-83Brunson Moore Whalen (19)Brunson (11)Moore (8)Target Center 9,21321-4 :
September (6-3)
GameDateTime (ET)OpponentTVScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation/AttendanceRecord
26Tue 48:00Los AngelesNBATV88-77Augustus Moore (23)Moore (9)McWilliams-Franklin (5)Target Center 8,12322-4
27Fri 78:00AtlantaFS-N SSO97-93 (2OT)Moore (23)Brunson (18)Whalen (5)Target Center 9,30823-4
28Sun 93:00@ San AntonioNBATV81-62Moore (18)Brunson Moore (12)Moore (6)AT&T Center 6,02524-4
29Tue 118:00@ ChicagoCN10070-83Moore (18)Brunson Wright (5)Moore (7)Allstate Arena 4,29624-5
30Fri 147:00@ Indiana66-64Moore (15)Moore (7)Moore (5)Bankers Life Fieldhouse 8,81925-5
31Mon 178:00IndianaNBATV FS-N FS-I86-79Moore (29)Whalen (8)Whalen (6)Target Center 9,52326-5
32Thu 2010:30@ Los AngelesNBATV TWC10176-92Wright (19)Peters (13)Thorn (5)Staples Center 10,21726-6
33Fri 2110:00@ PhoenixNBATV FS-N89-66Moore (21)Peters (9)Peters (6)US Airways Center 7,21727-6
34Sun 233:00@ San Antonio84-99Augustus (18)Peters (10)Whalen (5)AT&T Center 8,08427-7 :
All games are viewable on WNBA LiveAccess or ESPN3.com :

### Postseason

2012 Game Log: Postseason :
Western Conference Semifinals
GameDateTime (ET)OpponentTVScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation/AttendanceSeries
1September 289:00SeattleESPN278-70Whalen (20)Brunson (11)Whalen (6)Target Center 9,2131-0
2September 309:00@ SeattleESPN79-86 (2OT)Brunson (20)Brunson(15)Whalen (5)KeyArena 8,4791-1
3October 29:00SeattleESPN273-72Augustus (21)Brunson (9)McWilliams-Franklin (4)Target Center 8,0232-1 :
Western Conference Finals
GameDateTime (ET)OpponentTVScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation/AttendanceSeries
1October 48:00Los AngelesESPN294-77Moore (20)Brunson (10)Augustus (7)Target Center 8,5131-0
2October 73:30@ Los AngelesABC80-79Augustus (21)Brunson (10)McWilliams-Franklin Whalen (5)Staples Center 10,7912-0 :
WNBA Finals
GameDateTime (ET)OpponentTVScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation/AttendanceSeries
1October 148:00IndianaESPN270-76Augustus (23)Brunson Moore (10)Whalen (4)Target Center 14,3220-1
2October 178:00IndianaESPN83-71Augustus (27)Brunson (7)McWilliams-Franklin Moore Whalen (4)Target Center 13,4781-1
3October 198:00@ IndianaESPN259-76Brunson (12)Brunson (9)Wiggins (3)Bankers Life Fieldhouse 18,1651-2
4October 218:00@ IndianaESPN278-87Whalen (22)Augustus (7)Whalen (8)Bankers Life Fieldhouse 15,2131-3 :

## Statistics
### 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.