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Despite a ridiculous 33 points from Angel McCoughtry of the Atlanta Dream, the Minnesota Lynx take a 1-0 WNBA Finals lead after an 88-74 win from the Target Center. The Dream started out hot, building a 12 point lead midway through the second quarter before the Lynx battled back to end the half down 39-36.
The third quarter was the Angel McCoughtry Show, as she put up an impressive 19 points in the period, a WNBA Finals record. However, the balanced offense from the Lynx kept pace and the quarter ended tied at 62 points each. The fourth quarter belonged solely to Minnesota, outscoring Atlanta 26-12. In fact, the Dream scored their first bucket of the final period with just 5:26 remaining in the game.
Rebekkah Brunson poured in a team-high 26 points and grabbed 11 rebounds for the Lynx in the win. Seimone Augustus added 22 points and seven assists while point guard Lindsay Whalen contributed 15 points and six assists for Minnesota. Rookie Maya Moore was the fourth member of the Lynx to reach double-digits, ending with 11 points and six rebounds. Minnesota finished with a 40-28 rebounding edge. The Lynx got blocks from six players, swatting an impressive 11 Dream shots on the night.
Lindsey Harding finished with 20 points and Iziane Castro Marques added 10 points for Atlanta in the losing bid. Atlanta will get a welcome addition to their roster in the next contest of the best-of-five series, as usual starter Erika de Souza will return from her stint with the Brazilian national team. Game 2 is slated for Wednesday, Oct. 5 at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN 2.