INDIANAPOLIS – A big night on the offensive glass and at the free-throw line helped the Lynx improve to 2-0 in the young WNBA season.
Lindsay Whalen scored 17 points, Maya Moore and Rebekkah Brunson each had 16 points and 10 rebounds and the Lynx beat the Indiana Fever 78-69 on Saturday night at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.
The Lynx outrebounded the Fever 40-31, grabbing 13 offensive rebounds — including five from Moore and four from Brunson — that led to 20 second-chance points. The Lynx have won 37 consecutive games when outrebounding their opponent.
The Lynx also shot 26-for-31 from the free-throw line, while the Fever went only 9-for-17.
One night after opening the season with an 83-75 victory over Tulsa at Target Center, the Lynx beat the Fever for the seventh consecutive regular-season meeting, and for the fifth time in a row since losing the 2012 WNBA title to Indiana in four games. This time, the Lynx never trailed after the opening minutes, although they needed a 6-0 run late in the fourth quarter to surge to a 68-59 lead with 2 minutes, 58 seconds left.
Seimone Augustus added 11 points for the Lynx, who scored 13 consecutive points in a run spanning both halves to take a 40-27 lead.
Indiana, playing without injured 2012 WNBA Finals MVP Tamika Catchings (right knee), fell to 0-2 after losing its season opener at Chicago 95-72 on Friday. The Fever is playing under first-year coach Stephanie White, who led Purdue to an NCAA title in 1999.
Against the Lynx, the Fever cut its deficit to 60-57 on Shenise Johnson's three-pointer with 7:09 left in the fourth quarter but got no closer than that.
Marissa Coleman led the Fever with 16 points, Johnson added 15, Natalie Achonwa had 14 and Briann January 11.
