Lynx win one at home! Capture third WNBA title in 5 years

Couldn’t shoot. Couldn’t pass. Couldn’t handle the ball.

They beat Indiana 69-52 in Game 5 of the WNBA Finals Wednesday night to win the series on their home floor. At the forefront of this is Minnesota’s core, highlighted by a trio of Olympians in Moore, Seimone Augustus and Lindsay Whalen. A Renee Montgomery steal and score at the third-quarter horn put Minnesota up 48-29 and put the Lynx fans on their feet as Minnesota wrapped up another championship and exacted a little revenge after it fell to Indiana in the 2012 Finals. That would not have beaten any team in women’s pro basketball, and certainly not one featuring five U.S. Olympic gold medalists.

For Relando Hall and his 17-year-old daughter, the Lynx have already proved they’re champions. The Fever won their championship in 2012.

It was a deflating ending, both for the Fever and the league, after an electric first four games.

The Minnesota Timberwolves have firmed up a timeline for the long-planned renovation of Target Center.

Tamika Catchings, who has announced next season will be her last, led Indiana with 18 points and 11 rebounds.

Point guard Briann January, after an MVP-caliber first four games, had three assists against five turnovers. Minnesota dominated inside during the first quarter, scoring eight points from inside the lane and seven more from the free throw line. Rebekkah Brunson also recording a double-double with 10 points and 14 rebounds.

For Indiana, which was seeking its second WNBA crown, things started fine, but the Fever managed just 12 points in the second and third quarters, combined, digging a hole from which they could not recover.

The four points set a finals record for fewest by a team in one quarter.

A sea of white T-shirts filled Target Center to the rafters Wednesday night as Minnesota Lynx fans twirled their Lynx roar towels and held firm in their belief that history would be made.

It was a tough first half for Minnesota forward Maya Moore, though. Even then, she missed her free throw after being fouled.

Whalen returned and Moore finally got on the board with 6:43 to play in the second quarter, hitting a 3-pointer to cap a 8-0 Lynx run.