The Lynx were 2-2 with Los Angeles during the regular season.
Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve is relieved. Her team won two of three games from Seattle, the third one by a 73-72 score on Tuesday at Target Center, to advance to the Western Conference finals.
"It was a great series with these guys," she said. "I'm glad it is over with."
Next is Los Angeles. The schedule:
Thursday
Los Angeles at Lynx, 7 p.m., ESPN2
Sunday
Lynx at Los Angeles, 2:30 p.m., ABC
Wednesday
Los Angeles at Lynx, 7 p.m., if necessary, ESPN2
Single-game tickets at Target Center for this series range from $15 to $190. ... The Lynx and LA met in the opening round of the 2003 Western Conference playoffs. The Sparks won that series 2-1.
THEY SAY
Seimone Augustus on the two starting point guards: "Every little girl that [a]spires to be a point guard got a chance to see the two best point guards go head-to-head [Tuesday]. You got to see the guys of both of them. Susan [Bird of Seattle] went through some things with her health and [Lindsay] Whalen gutted it out tonight to help us get the victory. For every little girl out there trying to be a point guard, you just witnessed a great series between two point guards that are determined to do whatever it takes for their team to win."
Augustus on playing Los Angeles next: "I'm really excited about moving on, but we still have a lot of work to do. It's a quick turnaround with a tough team we have to face in LA. They have a lot of star power and it stars with Candace Parker. She is the leader of their team."
Seattle guard Sue Bird, "I remember before Game One I was interviewed and we were probably the only people -- our owners, our fans, who believed it would come down to this. [One shot to advance.] It's definitely a really crappy feeling right now but, with that said, I know at some point we will be able to look back and take this into next season."
More Bird, after praising Storm fans, she said: "I've got to give some credit to the Lynx fans. They were loud as well and made it difficult for us as the opposing team."
WISE UP
After watching how hard the Lynx play again on Tuesday night, the way they are treated on the radio is starting to bug me.
Those morning guys on 1500ESPN are a case in point. On Tuesday morning, they joked there might be riots in the street if the defending champion Lynx lost. And then one says the game is at 7:10 p.m. You are off by only an hour, buddy.
I guess making dumb mistakes on the radio is OK, especially if you are talking about a team you treat like it is totally irrelevant.
ETC.
* The Twins are buying 500 tickets to the Lynx-LA game on Thursday and distributing them free to fans who call Target Center (612-673-8400) starting at 8 a.m. Wednesday.
* The Lynx have won seven games in a row over Seattle at home.
* LA led the WNBA in attendance, averaging 10,176 fans. The Lynx were next at 9,683.
The return of NHL players to the Winter Games for the first time since 2014 will make the hockey better and the competition tougher.
