2013 WNBA Finals

2013 WNBA Finals
Dates	October 6–10
MVP	Maya Moore Minnesota
Hall of Famers	Lynx:; Seimone Augustus (2024); Lindsay Whalen (2022)
Eastern finals	Atlanta defeated Indiana, 2–0
Western finals	Minnesota defeated Phoenix, 2–0

The 2013 WNBA Finals was the playoff series for the 2013 season of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA), and the conclusion of the season's playoffs.^[1] The Minnesota Lynx, champions of the Western Conference, defeated the Atlanta Dream, champions of the Eastern Conference.

The WNBA Finals were under a 2–2–1 rotation. The Lynx held home-court advantage as they had a better regular season record (26–8) than the Dream (17–17). The meeting is a rematch of the 2011 WNBA Finals, in which the Lynx defeated the Dream in three games.

The Lynx won the first game of the series 84–59, and the second 88–63.^[2] They finished the sweep with an 86–77 win in Atlanta, becoming the second WNBA team to sweep through the playoffs since the best-of-five finals format was adopted.

Background

2013 WNBA regular season

#	Eastern Conference v t e
#	Team	W	L	PCT	GB	GP
1	z-Chicago Sky	24	10	.706	-	34
2	x-Atlanta Dream	17	17	.500	7	34
3	x-Washington Mystics	17	17	.500	7	34
4	x-Indiana Fever	16	18	.471	8	34

5	e-New York Liberty	11	23	.324	13	34
6	e-Connecticut Sun	10	24	.294	14	34

#	Western Conference v t e
#	Team	W	L	PCT	GB	GP
1	z-Minnesota Lynx	26	8	.765	-	34
2	x-Los Angeles Sparks	24	10	.706	2	34
3	x-Phoenix Mercury	19	15	.559	7	34
4	x-Seattle Storm	17	17	.500	9	34

5	e-San Antonio Silver Stars	12	22	.353	14	34
6	e-Tulsa Shock	11	23	.324	15	34

2013 WNBA Playoffs

Minnesota Lynx
26–8 (.765) 1st West, 1st overall	Seeding	17–17 (.500) 2nd East, 6th overall
Defeated the (4) Seattle Storm, 2–0	Conference Semifinals	Defeated the (3) Washington Mystics, 2–1
Defeated the (3) Phoenix Mercury, 2–0	Conference Finals	Defeated the (4) Indiana Fever, 2–0

Atlanta Dream

The Atlanta Dream finished 17-17, good for second place in the Eastern Conference. They defeated the Washington Mystics in three games in the conference semifinals, and swept fourth-seeded Indiana, the defending WNBA champions, who had upset the top seed, the Chicago Sky, in the first round.

The Dream featured Angel McCoughtry, who won her second consecutive scoring title in 2013, as well as Brazilian center Erika de Souza. However, the Dream played the Finals without Sancho Lyttle, who had gone down with an injury during the season.

Minnesota Lynx

The Minnesota Lynx finished with the best record in the WNBA for the third straight year.. The Lynx swept both fourth-seeded Seattle and pre-season favorites Phoenix to win their third consecutive Western Conference crown.

The Lynx returned their core nucleus of Seimone Augustus, Rebekkah Brunson, Maya Moore, and Lindsay Whalen, all of whom played on the Lynx's 2011 championship team.

Regular-season series

The season series was tied, 1-1:

July 9, 2013

Report

Atlanta Dream 72, Minnesota Lynx 94

Target Center, Minneapolis, MN

August 20, 2013

Report

Minnesota Lynx 75, Atlanta Dream 88

Philips Arena, Atlanta, GA

Series summary

All times are in Eastern Daylight Time (UTC−4).

Game 1

The Minnesota Lynx came out determined not to lose game one at home as they had in the 2012 WNBA Finals. Maya Moore led the Lynx with 23 points, and Monica Wright added 20 off the bench as the Lynx cruised past the Dream 84–59. Angel McCoughtry led the Dream with 17 points.^[3]

ESPN

October 6
8:30pm ET

Report

Atlanta Dream 59, Minnesota Lynx 84
Scoring by quarter: 16–24, 9–20, 18–24, 16–16
Pts: Angel McCoughtry 17 Rebs: Aneika Henry 14 Asts: Armintie Herrington 3		Pts: Maya Moore 23 Rebs: Rebekkah Brunson 8 Asts: Lindsay Whalen 5
Minnesota Leads Series 1–0

Target Center, Minneapolis, MN
Attendance: 13,804
Referees: Michael Price, Cameron Inouye, Kurt Walker

Game 2

The Lynx came out on fire in Game 2, opening up an 11-point lead after the first quarter that they would never relinquish. Seimone Augustus led the Lynx in scoring with 20 points, and all five starters finished the game in double figures. Angel McCoughtry was hampered by foul trouble throughout the night, and ultimately fouled out in the fourth quarter.^[4]

ESPN2

October 8
8:00pm ET

Report

Atlanta Dream 63, Minnesota Lynx 88
Scoring by quarter: 16-27, 20-24, 16-17, 11-20
Pts: Angel McCoughtry 15 Rebs: Aneika Henry 6 Asts: Angel McCoughtry 4		Pts: Seimone Augustus 20 Rebs: Rebekkah Brunson 10 Asts: Lindsay Whalen 5
Minnesota Leads Series 2–0

Target Center, Minneapolis, MN
Attendance: 12,313
Referees: Eric Brewton, Sue Blauch, Daryl Humphrey

Game 3

The Lynx opened up an 8-point lead at the end of the first quarter, but Atlanta battled back several times, cutting the lead to 3 at halftime. Ultimately, however, the balanced attack of Minnesota was simply too much for the Dream to overcome; the Lynx won 86–77, earning their second WNBA title in three years, and becoming the second WNBA team to sweep the playoffs. Maya Moore of the Lynx was named WNBA Finals MVP.^[5]^[6]

ESPN2

October 10
8:30pm ET

Report

Minnesota Lynx 86, Atlanta Dream 77
Scoring by quarter: 25–17, 15–20, 26–19, 20–21
Pts: Maya Moore 23 Rebs: Rebekkah Brunson 12 Asts: Lindsay Whalen 6		Pts: Tiffany Hayes 20 Rebs: Érika de Souza 9 Asts: Alex Bentley 6
Minnesota Wins Series 3–0

Arena at Gwinnett Center, Duluth, GA
Attendance: 5040
Referees: Lamont Simpson, Denise Brooks, Brenda Pantoja

Rosters

Minnesota Lynx roster

Players

Coaches

Pos.	#	Name	Height	Weight	DOB	From	Yrs
G/F	33	Augustus, Seimone	6' 0" (1.83m)	165 lb (75kg)	04-30-1984	LSU	7
F	32	Brunson, Rebekkah	6' 2" (1.88m)	184 lb (83kg)	12-11-1981	Georgetown	9
F	11	Harris, Amber	6' 5" (1.96m)	202 lb (92kg)	01-16-1988	Xavier	2
G	12	Jarry, Rachel	6' 1" (1.85m)	176 lb (80kg)	12-06-1991	Australia	R
C	4	McCarville, Janel	6' 2" (1.88m)	205 lb (93kg)	11-03-1982	Minnesota	7
G	00	Moore, Lindsey	5' 8" (1.73m)	153 lb (69kg)	06-03-1991	Nebraska	R
F	23	Moore, Maya	6' 0" (1.83m)	175 lb (79kg)	06-11-1989	Connecticut	2
F	14	Peters, Devereaux	6' 2" (1.88m)	170 lb (77kg)	10-08-1989	Notre Dame	1
G	15	Rodgers, Sugar	5' 9" (1.75m)	160 lb (73kg)	12-08-1989	Georgetown	R
G	13	Whalen, Lindsay	5' 9" (1.75m)	160 lb (73kg)	05-09-1982	Minnesota	9
G/F	22	Wright, Monica	5' 10" (1.78m)	171 lb (78kg)	07-15-1988	Virginia	3

Head coach: Cheryl Reeve (La Salle)
Assistant coaches: Shelley Patterson (Washington State)
Jim Petersen (Minnesota)

Athletic trainer: Chuck Barta (Wisconsin-La Crosse)
Assistant trainer: Keith Uzpen (Minnesota State-Mankato)

Legend

(C) Team captain
(FA) Free agent
(IN) Inactive
(S) Suspended
Injured

Atlanta Dream roster

Players

Coaches

Pos.	#	Name	Height	Weight	DOB	From	Yrs
G	2	Bentley, Alex	5' 7" (1.7m)	152 lb (69kg)	10-27-1990	Penn State	R
G	54	Clements, Courtney	6' 0" (1.83m)	155 lb (70kg)	11-12-1989	San Diego State	R
F/C	14	de Souza, Erika	6' 5" (1.96m)	190 lb (86kg)	03-03-1982	Brazil	7
G	15	Hayes, Tiffany	5' 10" (1.78m)	155 lb (70kg)	09-20-1989	Connecticut	1
F	13	Henry, Aneika	6' 3" (1.91m)	205 lb (93kg)	02-13-1986	Florida	1
G/F	22	Herrington, Armintie	5' 9" (1.75m)	133 lb (60kg)	04-03-1985	Mississippi	6
C	11	Leuchanka, Yelena	6' 5" (1.96m)	195 lb (88kg)	04-30-1983	West Virginia	4
F	20	Lyttle, Sancho	6' 4" (1.93m)	175 lb (79kg)	09-20-1983	Houston	8
F	35	McCoughtry, Angel	6' 1" (1.85m)	160 lb (73kg)	09-10-1986	Louisville	4
F/C	00	Riley, Ruth	6' 5" (1.96m)	198 lb (90kg)	11-28-1979	Notre Dame	13
G	5	Thomas, Jasmine	5' 9" (1.75m)	145 lb (66kg)	09-30-1989	Duke	2
F	43	Willingham, Le'Coe	6' 0" (1.83m)	200 lb (91kg)	02-10-1981	Auburn	9