2012 WNBA Finals

2012 WNBA Finals
TeamCoachWins
Minnesota Lynx Cheryl Reeve 1
Indiana Fever Lin Dunn 3
Dates October 14 – 21
MVP United States Tamika Catchings
Television ESPN, ESPN2 (HD)
Announcers Terry Gannon (2–4), Rebecca Lobo (all), Holly Rowe (all), Pam Ward (1)
Referees
Game 1: Sue Blauch, Kurt Walker, Tom Mauer
Game 2: Michael Price, Roy Gulbeyan, Brenda Pantoja
Game 3: Denise Brooks, Lamont Simpson, Eric Brewton
Game 4: Sue Blauch, Michael Price, Roy Gulbeyan
Eastern Finals Indiana defeated Connecticut, 2–1
Western Finals Minnesota defeated Los Angeles, 2–0

The 2012 WNBA Finals was the series for the 2012 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, faced the Indiana Fever, champions of the Eastern Conference. The Fever defeated the Lynx three games to one becoming only the second Eastern Conference franchise to capture a WNBA title.

The WNBA Finals were under a 2–2–1 rotation. The Lynx held home-court advantage as they had a better regular season record (27–7) than the Fever (22–12). The Lynx were defending their 2011 WNBA Championship. The Fever appeared in the 2009 Finals.[2]

Background

2012 WNBA Regular Season

Eastern Conference W L PCT GB Home Road Conf.
Connecticut Sun y259.735–12–513–418–4
Indiana Fever x2212.6473.013–49–815–7
Atlanta Dream x1915.5596.011–68–912–10
New York Liberty x1519.44110.09–86–1110–12
Chicago Sky o1420.41211.07–107–108–14
Washington Mystics o529.14720.04–131–163–19
Western Conference W L PCT GB Home Road Conf.
Minnesota Lynx z277.794–16–111–617–5
Los Angeles Sparks x2410.7063.016–18–915–7
San Antonio Silver Stars x2113.6186.012–59–814–8
Seattle Storm x1618.47111.010–76–1111–11
Tulsa Shock o925.26518.06–113–145–17
Phoenix Mercury o727.20620.03–144–134–18

2012 WNBA Playoffs

Minnesota LynxIndiana Fever
27–7 (.794)
1st West, 1st overall		 Seeding 22–12 (.647)
2nd East, 4th overall
Defeated the (4) Seattle Storm, 2–1 Conference Semifinals Defeated the (3) Atlanta Dream, 2–1
Defeated the (2) Los Angeles Sparks, 2–0 Conference Finals Defeated the (1) Connecticut Sun, 2–1

Indiana Fever

The Indiana Fever finished 22–12, good for second place in the Eastern Conference. The Fever lost their first playoff game against the Atlanta Dream, but rallied to win two straight elimination games, setting up a conference final against the Connecticut Sun. Once again, Indiana lost the first game of the series, but rallied to win two straight to reach the finals for the second time in four years.

Minnesota Lynx

The Minnesota Lynx finished with the best record in the WNBA for the second straight year, finishing with a 27–7 record. The Lynx were taken to three games by the Seattle Storm, winning Game 3 by one point. The Lynx then swept the Los Angeles Sparks in the Western Conference Finals, which gave them a chance to defend their 2011 WNBA title.

Regular-season series

The Minnesota Lynx won the season series 2–0:

Series summary

All times are in Eastern Daylight Time (UTC−4).

Game 1

October 14
8:00pm ET
Indiana Fever 76, Minnesota Lynx 70
Scoring by quarter: 25–20, 18–20, 13–18, 20–12
Pts: Catchings (20)
Rebs: Larkins (15)
Asts: January (6)		 Pts: Augustus (23)
Rebs: Brunson, Moore (10)
Asts: Whalen (4)
Indiana lead series, 1–0
Target Center, Minneapolis, MN
Attendance: 14,322
Referees: Sue Blauch, Kurt Walker, Tom Mauer

Game 2

October 17
8:00pm ET
Indiana Fever 71, Minnesota Lynx 83
Scoring by quarter: 18–11, 15–20, 22–29, 16–23
Pts: Catchings (27)
Rebs: Catchings (8)
Asts: Phillips (4)		 Pts: Augustus (27)
Rebs: Brunson (7)
Asts: McWilliams-Franklin, Moore, Whalen (4)
Series tied 1–1
Target Center, Minneapolis, MN
Attendance: 13,478
Referees: Michael Price, Roy Gulbeyan, Brenda Pantoja

Game 3

October 19
8:00pm ET
Minnesota Lynx 59, Indiana Fever 76
Scoring by quarter: 16–21, 11–24, 11–25, 21–6
Pts: Brunson (12)
Rebs: Brunson (9)
Asts: Wiggins (3)		 Pts: Zellous (30)
Rebs: Larkins (12)
Asts: Davenport (4)
Indiana lead series, 2–1
Bankers Life Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, IN
Attendance: 18,165
Referees: Denise Brooks, Lamont Simpson, Eric Brewton

Game 4

October 21
8:00pm ET
Minnesota Lynx 78, Indiana Fever 87
Scoring by quarter: 18–25, 24–22, 16–18, 20–24
Pts: Whalen (22)
Rebs: Augustus (7)
Asts: Whalen (8)		 Pts: Catchings (28)
Rebs: Larkins (13)
Asts: Catchings (8)
Indiana win series, 3–1
Bankers Life Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, IN
Attendance: 15,213
Referees: Sue Blauch, Michael Price, Roy Gulbeyan

Rosters

Minnesota Lynx roster
PlayersCoaches
Pos.#Nat.NameHeightWeightDOBFrom
C 1 United States Adair, Jessica 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 197 lb (89 kg) 12-19-1986 George Washington
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 6 United States Harris, Amber 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 202 lb (92 kg) 01-16-1988 Xavier
F/C 8 United States McWilliams-Franklin, Taj 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 08-20-1970 St. Edward's
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 5 United States Thorn, Erin 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) 145 lb (66 kg) 05-19-1981 BYU
G 13 United States Whalen, Lindsay 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) 160 lb (73 kg) 05-09-1982 Minnesota
G 11 United States Wiggins, Candice 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) 147 lb (67 kg) 02-14-1987 Stanford
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
Indiana Fever roster
PlayersCoaches
Pos.#Nat.NameHeightWeightDOBFrom
F 24 United States Catchings, Tamika 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 167 lb (76 kg) 07-21-1979 Tennessee
G/F 11 United States Christmas, Karima 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 09-11-1989 Duke
C 50 United States Davenport, Jessica 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 06-21-1985 Ohio State
G/F 23 United States Douglas, Katie 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 165 lb (75 kg) 05-07-1979 Purdue
F 45 United States Goodlett, Sasha 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 239 lb (108 kg) 08-09-1990 Georgia Tech
G 20 United States January, Briann 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) 144 lb (65 kg) 01-11-1987 Arizona State
F 2 United States Larkins, Erlana 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 202 lb (92 kg) 04-02-1986 North Carolina
G 13 Australia Phillips, Erin 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) 165 lb (75 kg) 05-19-1985 Australia
G 32 United States Pohlen, Jeanette 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 179 lb (81 kg) 05-02-1989 Stanford
C 8 Canada Sutton-Brown, Tammy 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 199 lb (90 kg) 01-27-1978 Rutgers
G 1 United States Zellous, Shavonte 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 155 lb (70 kg) 08-28-1986 Pittsburgh
Head coach
United States Lin Dunn (Tennessee-Martin)
Assistant coaches
United States Mickie DeMoss (Louisiana Tech)
United States Stephanie White (Purdue)
Athletic trainer
United States Todd Champlin (Daemen)
Strength and conditioning coach
United States Emily Novitsky (Slippery Rock)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (IN) Inactive
  • (S) Suspended
  • Injured

References

  1. ↑ WNBA.com
  2. ↑ WNBA Schedule
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