"You play hard when you are out there, that's all you can do," Lynx guard Lindsay Whalen said, asked how the starters will deal with less minutes they are expected to get the rest of the regular season. "You follow the game plan. You do what coach wants you to do.
"Coach will figure it out. She has guided us to the best record in the league. She is a great coach. She will put us in the right situations. We will trust in that. While we are out there, while we are in practice, we know we have to get ready for playoffs. We know we all have worked really hard this season to make it a special season."
Second-year Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve has to be in Coach of the Year conversations. The Lynx have gone from 13-21 to 24-7 from 2010 to 2011. They had a six-game winning streak until losing 78-62 to the New York Liberty on Friday at Target Center.
"Nights like [Friday] make you realize, back to work and try to get better," said Whalen, who had one of her worst games.
She was 1 for 8 from the field, missing her first seven shots. She scored seven points on one field goals and by making five of six free throws. She had two assists, matching a season low, and three turnovers.
And 5-5 LeiLani Mitchell, the player Whalen was supposed to guard, scored a season-high 24 points. Mitchell was often wide open in sinking six three-pointers in eight attempts.
And the Lynx's next opponent is New York again, this time at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. Madison Square Garden is being remodeled.
"You try to celebrate a little that we have clinched home-court throughout," Whalen said. "[Friday's loss] is disappointing, but you don't want to hang your head because it is two quick a turnaround to let yourself be negative for too long. I know coach will have us watch the video and we will be seeing our mistakes and trying to get better.
"I know we will do that on Sunday. We have always bounced back this year and some adversity right now, handle it and move on."
