Coach happy with Lynx win any which way

Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve sweated out this win.

Minnesota's 79-76 victory over Chicago on the road was not secure until a last-second shot by the Sky missed.

"Well both of us dug in defensively," Reeve said, according to a news release from the Sky. "We got some decent stops but they wouldn't go away and we couldn't put them away. But a win is a win."

The Lynx are now 17-5 with a four-game lead in the Western Conference.

Point guard Lindsay Whalen led the Lynx with 16 points. "I am just really glad she is on our basketball team," Reeve said. "She comes ready to play every game and she's a tremendous leader. All of us I think feel lucky to have her. "

Whalen was seven of nine from the field and also had six assists.

The Sky kept close because 6-6 center Sylvia Fowles had a huge game. She had 28 points -- on 11 of 13 shooting from the field -- and 13 rebounds.

"Whatever the plan was, we aren't going to repeat it the next time," Reeve said, asked how the Lynx tried to contain Fowles. "We didn't want her to get opportunities. She's very hard to play against. She played very well and was focused and she's a tremendous challenge for our post players."

"It wasn't our best [game]," said Lynx rookie forward Maya Moore, who had 13 points and five rebounds (and five turnovers). "We played against a phenomenal team in Chicago. Sylvia played so well and it was one of those things where you wanted to make things as hard as possible on her. We need to execute better offensively and have a better effort on the defensive end."

Lynx guard Seimone Augustus, the team's leading scorer, was only 4 of 13 from the field, but was 5 of 5 on free throws and had two rebounds and two assists.

"I think it was important for me to being aggressive and drive it in, especially since my shot wasn't going down," Augustus said. "I wanted to get to the free throw line."

Augustus hopes to play better in the Lynx's next game vs. Tulsa on Sunday at Target Center. "I need to be consistent," she said. "I have to be what the team needs me to whether it's scoring or anything else. I also need to do well on defense and get a lot of rebounds."

CLOSE, BUT A LOSS FOR SKY

"There were crucial possessions, not just the ones late, but the ones early on when we were not in the right defensive schemes. And at the end of it, they are plus-10 on the boards. [The Lynx outrebounded the Sky 42-32]. That is an area we have gotten better at, but we gave them a lot of second-chance opportunities and then we just need to capitalize on things that we need to."

The Lynx had 12 offensive rebounds, the Sky six.

Late in the game, trailing 78-76, the Sky also had a huge turnover on a long downcourt pass to Fowles.

"We had 38 points in transition," Chatman said. "Part of our strategy was, if we got a rebound, we would take a look at something in transition so they don't call a timeout and sub. They were playing with four perimeter players in there and we thought we could take advantage of some things.

"[We were] throwing the ball into Syl for a layup and she got two hands on it and you can always say you want to take that one back…I won't… it was a nice look."