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Thanks to all who attended College Game Day #4 at Champps in Woodbury to see LSU take on Baylor.

Congratulations to Season Ticket Holders: Veronica Jones, Erin Dilley, Leann Grier, Ross Neri, and Gary Schulz who were the lucky winners of Lynx merchandise throughout the evening.

I look forward to seeing you all at the next College Game Day: Thursday, February 9 at 5:30 at Champps in Minneapolis to see Tennessee battle LSU.

Lynx Season Ticket Holders scout some potential 2006 #1 Draft Picks.

Lynx Season Ticket Holder and Amber Jacobs Look-alike, Jessica Schulz poses with her dad, Gary, at College Game Day #4!

Lynx teammates Svetlana Abrosimova and Nicole Ohlde square off when Volgaburmash hosts Dexia Namur in Game 1 of their EuroLeague playoff series in Samara. The powerhouse Russian side swept both meetings from Dexia in the qualifying round, 70-59 on Oct. 26 at home and 87-60 on Dec. 1 in Namur, Belgium. Today's game begins at 9:00 a.m. Central Time; a preview of the series and live stats can be found here.

Elsewhere, Kristi Harrower -- the subject of a feature this week on FIBA's website -- leads USVO into its best-of-three series against Famila Schio in Valenciennes, France. This represents the first meeting of the season between the clubs, as Famila finished tied for 5th in Group B at 2-8 while USVO won Group C with a 9-1 record. The game is scheduled to tip off at 11:30 a.m. Central Time; and can be followed here.

To the Best Season Ticket Holders in the WNBA:

DON'T FORGET:

WHO: You and your friends
WHAT: College Game Night #4 (Baylor vs. LSU): Watch great college ball, appetizer/drink specials, LYNX giveaways
WHERE: WOODBURY Champps - 8418 Tamarack Village Woodbury, MN 55125-3383 - (651) 735-5050
WHEN: TONIGHT, January 30 @ 5:30PM, Tip-Off: 6PM
WHY: Come and see Sophia Young and the Defending National Champions, take on Seimone Augustus and the #5 ranked LSU Lady Tigers. Print off your tickets on Account Manager and give me a call with any questions!

See you there!
GO LYNX!

Completing our look at some of the top players available when the free agent signing period begins on Wednesday (Feb. 1), we'll delve into rebounders and ballhandlers who may be of interest to the Lynx.

Using data from KnickerBlogger.net, Minnesota finished 10th among the WNBA's 13 teams in turnovers, averaging 21.8 miscues for every 100 possessions. The Lynx were also 10th in assist/turnover ratio (0.99-to-1), while facing a 2.3 ppg deficit in points off turnovers (12.6-14.9). Switching to Hollinger-inspired statistics, here are the top five free agents in terms of Assist Ratio (min. 500 Minutes Played):

Ast% - Player, 2005 Team
.393 - Dawn Staley, Houston (u)
.355 - Dalma Ivanyi, San Antonio (r)
.345 - Ticha Penicheiro, Sacramento (u)
.267 - Tamecka Dixon, Los Angeles (u)
.266 - Nikki Teasley, Los Angeles (r)

Followed by the five with the lowest Turnover Ratios (min. 500 Minutes Played):

.TO% - Player, 2005 Team
.091 - Lauren Jackson, Seattle (r)
.096 - Nykesha Sales, Connecticut (u)
.099 - Vickie Johnson, New York (u)
.113 - Crystal Robinson, New York (u)
.118 - Coco Miller, Washington (r)

The Lynx were 8th in rebounding margin last season, being outboarded by an average of -0.9 rpg (30.1-31.0). Minnesota's top rebounder, Nicole Ohlde, checked in at 15th individually (5.7 rpg); only San Antonio and Charlotte were led by players with lower per-game averages, while four teams (Connecticut, Los Angeles, New York, Seattle) had two players ahead of the Lynx' best. Here are 2005's top per-game rebounding numbers among those available:

RPG -- Player, 2005 Team
9.2 -- Lauren Jackson, Seattle (r)
6.9 -- Elena Baranova, New York (u)
6.8 -- Michelle Snow, Houston (r)
6.6 -- Ann Wauters, New York (r)
5.7 -- Wendy Palmer-Daniel, San Antonio (u)

And similar numbers, this time expressed as Rebound Rate, a formula that estimates the percentage of available rebounds a player collects during her time in the game (.100 would be the nominal average, if all 10 players on the floor rebounded at an equal rate):

Reb% - Player, 2005 Team
.171 - Lauren Jackson, Seattle (r)
.167 - Michelle Snow, Houston (r)
.165 - Elena Baranova, New York (u)
.160 - Natalie Williams, Indiana (u)
.154 - Tari Phillips, Houston (u)

The Jan. 15 announcement of core designations leaves 48 free agents available to be signed beginning Feb. 1, according to WNBA.com's Player Movement Central. Using a combination of traditional statistics and those popularized by John Hollinger (among others), this installment begins an overview of the top players who could bolster the Lynx' prospects for 2006 and beyond.

According to the invaluable KnickerBlogger.net website, Minnesota finished last season ranked 9th among the WNBA's 13 teams in offensive efficiency, averaging 91.3 points for every 100 possessions (Connecticut and New York were 1-2 in that category). The five leading scorers available: (Note: r=Restricted Free Agent, u=Unrestricted Free Agent)

.PPG - Player, 2005 Team
17.6 - Lauren Jackson, Seattle (r)
15.9 - Deanna Nolan, Detroit (r)
15.6 - Nykesha Sales, Connecticut (u)
13.7 - Ann Wauters, New York (r)
13.2 - Penny Taylor, Phoenix (r)

As a team, Minnesota was 10th in True Shooting Percentage (.500), which measures how efficiently a player scores based on a mixture of field-goal attempts, three-pointers and free throws. The best five on the market are (min. 250 Minutes Played):

.TS% - Player, 2005 Team
.610 - Penny Taylor, Phoenix (r)
.598 - Wendy Palmer-Daniel, San Antonio (u)
.594 - Michelle Snow, Houston (r)
.589 - Ann Wauters, New York (r)
.585 - Charlotte Smith-Taylor, Washington (u)

While the Lynx did finish 3rd in three-point accuracy last summer at 35.0%, here are the top long-range artists available (min. 20 Three-Pointers Made):

3Pt% - Player, 2005 Team
.444 - Dalma Ivanyi, San Antonio (r)
.429 - Wendy Palmer-Daniel, San Antonio (u)
.422 - Nykesha Sales, Connecticut (u)
.420 - Charlotte Smith-Taylor, Washington (u)
.404 - Penny Taylor, Phoenix (r)

Finally, Minnesota was 10th in free throws attempted (601, or 17.7 per game). The most prolific free agents at getting to the line in 2005:

FTA -- Player, 2005 Team
181 -- Lauren Jackson, Seattle (r)
160 -- Deanna Nolan, Detroit (r)
134 -- Marie Ferdinand, San Antonio (r)
130 -- Michelle Snow, Houston (r)
120 -- Anna DeForge, Phoenix (r)

Only a week to go until teams can start signing free agents. Earlier this month, all the teams had to send out their qualifying offers to restricted free ageents (players with 4 or 5 years of experience) and reserved players (players with less than 4 years of experience) whose contracts had exprired at the end of last season. A list of free agents is available here: http://www.wnba.com/features/player_movement_06.html This list does not include unrestricted free agents who were not on a roster at the end of last season. Basically, anyone who has ever been eligible for a draft and was not on a roster at the end of last season is an unrestricted free agent.

Since the fifteenth of January, we have been able to negotiate with free agents. We have been in several discussions with players that we think will help our team next year. At this point, it looks very good that we will have an announcement very early after the opening of the signing period, so stay tuned.

An exciting finish Saturday night in France, where Kristi Harrower set up Sandrine Gruda for the game-winning basket as Valenciennes rallied for a 76-75 victory at Villeneuve-D'Ascq. Harrower led USVO with 16 points, hitting 4-for-5 from three-point range. Over her last three LFB (French League) appearances, she's gone 14-for-22 (63.6%) from the floor and converted eight of 12 long-distance attempts.

The last-second victory extended Valenciennes' winning streak to seven games and kept them tied for second place with Bourges at 14-2, one game behind Mondeville in the French League standings. USVO takes on Salies-du-Salat on Tuesday night in an eighth-final meeting of the Coupe de France tournament, then hosts Clermont in a key LFB battle on Saturday.

Also, Harrower's official web site has launched a campaign to select Kristi to the first-ever EuroLeague Women All-Star Game, slated for March 8 in Pecs, Hungary. Harrower is the only Lynx player listed, although both Nicole Ohlde and Svetlana Abrosimova can be found under the "Other players" applet. On-line balloting ends this Friday (January 27).

Saturday's roundup of games featuring WNBA prospects:

Nikki Blue, UCLA -- at Southern California (L70-73)
> 19 pts (5-14 FG, 6-8 FT), 6 reb, 5 ast, 2 stl, 31 min
Season: 12.8 pts (40.8%), 5.3 reb, 5.4 ast, 2.33 stl, 33.1 min

LaToya Davis, Texas Tech -- vs. Nebraska (W61-59)
> 25 pts (8-16 FG, 9-13 FT), 12 reb, 1 ast, 1 blk, 39 min
Season: 19.8 pts (59.9%), 10.9 reb, 0.7 ast, 1.25 blk, 32.9 min

Megan Duffy, Notre Dame -- at Georgetown (W54-52)
> 16 pts (5-8 FG, 4-4 FT), 5 reb, 5 ast, 2 stl, 40 min
Season: 15.9 pts (40.1%), 3.9 reb, 4.3 ast, 2.18 stl, 38.2 min

Erin Grant, Texas Tech -- vs. Nebraska (W61-59)
> 7 pts (2-8 FG, 3-4 FT), 5 reb, 10 ast, 2 blk, 39 min
Season: 12.4 pts (39.4%), 3.9 reb, 6.4 ast, 0.94 stl, 36.4 min

Cassie Hager, Northern Iowa -- vs. Bradley (W82-68)
> 26 pts (11-11 FG, 4-4 FT), 4 reb, 3 ast, 1 stl, 4 blk, 32 min
Season: 17.3 pts (55.6%), 6.9 reb, 1.7 ast, 4.13 blk, 34.2 min

Cappie Pondexter, Rutgers -- vs. Louisville (W80-55)
> 27 pts (11-17 FG, 3-3 FT), 3 reb, 4 ast, 2 stl, 1 blk, 35 min
Season: 22.0 pts (52.8%), 3.6 reb, 3.9 ast, 1.69 stl, 36.5 min

Khara Smith, DePaul -- at Seton Hall (W69-56)
> 18 pts (5-9 FG, 8-8 FT), 9 reb, 1 ast, 2 stl, 1 blk, 31 min
Season: 18.5 pts (61.5%), 10.9 reb, 1.3 ast, 2.05 stl, 27.4 min

Kim Smith, Utah -- at UNLV (W59-51)
> 21 pts (8-16 FG, 3-6 FT), 6 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl, 40 min
Season: 18.5 pts (50.9%), 7.2 reb, 2.9 ast, 1.94 stl, 35.2 min

Ann Strother, Connecticut -- at Pittsburgh (W65-54)
> 14 pts (4-11 FG, 5-6 FT), 5 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl, 34 min
Season: 15.2 pts (45.3%), 5.5 reb, 3.7 ast, 1.05 blk, 32.4 min

Zane Teilane, Western Illinois -- at Chicago State (W62-49)
> 22 pts (11-15 FG, 0-0 FT), 8 reb, 1 ast, 3 blk, 32 min
Season: 17.2 pts (52.7%), 10.4 reb, 3.3 ast, 1.31 blk, 4.38 blk, 30.6 min

Shona Thorburn, Utah -- at UNLV (W59-51)
> 16 pts (2-5 FG, 11-12 FT), 6 reb, 3 ast, 1 stl, 40 min
Season: 10.8 pts (35.9%), 6.3 reb, 6.4 ast, 2.12 stl, 35.8 min

Lisa Willis, UCLA -- at Southern California (L70-73)
> 6 pts (1-11 FG, 4-5 FT), 5 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl, 28 min
Season: 17.9 pts (46.2%), 4.9 reb, 3.4 ast, 3.72 stl, 33.4 min

Sophia Young, Baylor -- vs. Oklahoma (L70-73)
> 18 pts (7-18 FG, 4-7 FT), 9 reb, 1 ast, 4 stl, 2 blk, 39 min
Season: 20.8 pts (57.2%), 10.1 reb, 2.0 ast, 2.06 stl, 1.47 blk, 32.6 min

Perfumerias Avenida moved on to the quarterfinals of the 2006 EuroCup Women competition after beating Turkish side Mersin, 66-43, on Thursday night in Salamanca, Spain, to complete a sweep of their best-of-three series. Nuria Martinez led Perfumerias with 13 points, eight assists and five steals, one week after tallying 18 points, seven rebounds, eight assists and four steals in the 77-73 Game 1 triumph at Mersin.

Martinez, the 21-year-old point guard who saw her 2005 Lynx season cut short due to a foot injury suffered in last year's Spanish League playoffs, has bounced back to average 12.3 points (52.8%), 3.0 rebounds, 5.5 assists and 4.25 steals in her past four EuroCup tournament outings. She also tallied 9.3 points, 3.3 rebounds and 4.7 assists in helping Perfumerias claim its second straight Copa de la Reina (Queen's Cup) title earlier this month, beating Ros Casares, 67-60, in the Jan. 8 final.

Thursday's victory was the franchise-record 15th in a row for Perfumerias, counting regular-season and Copa de la Reina play as well as EuroCup action. The club steps back into Spanish League competition on Saturday night, putting its 11-3 record on the line at Real Club Celta Vigourban. The best-of-three EuroCup quarterfinal series against Besiktas (Turkey) starts on Feb. 2 in Salamanca.

Several top WNBA prospects were in action Thursday night:

Seimone Augustus, LSU -- vs. Alabama (W79-43)
> 20 pts (9-16 FG, 2-3 FT), 2 reb, 3 ast, 4 stl, 27 min
Season: 19.7 pts (54.5%), 4.8 reb, 1.8 ast, 2.00 stl, 30.6 min

Sherill Baker, Georgia -- vs. Mississippi State (W81-42)
> 15 pts (6-13 FG, 3-3 FT), 7 reb, 5 ast, 10 stl, 1 blk, 32 min
Season: 18.4 pts (53.3%), 4.9 reb, 3.4 ast, 5.35 stl, 36.0 min

Lindsay Bowen, Michigan State -- vs. Illinois (W72-61)
> 16 pts (6-14 FG, 2-8 3FG, 2-2 FT), 3 reb, 6 ast, 5 stl, 37 min
Season: 13.9 pts (39.7%), 3.7 reb, 4.0 ast, 2.00 stl, 34.8 min

Monique Currie, Duke -- vs. North Carolina State (W77-57)
> 20 pts (7-14 FG, 2-3 3FG, 4-4 FT), 2 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl, 19 min
Season: 15.4 pts (52.0%), 5.6 reb, 3.5 ast, 1.50 stl, 25.8 min

Candice Dupree, Temple -- at Rutgers (W48-47)
> 14 pts (7-17 FG, 0-0 FT), 2 reb, 1 stl, 35 min
Season: 16.2 pts (50.9%), 8.5 reb, 1.9 ast, 2.12 stl, 1.88 blk, 36.0 min

Tamara James, Miami (Fla.) -- vs. Boston College (W82-68)
> 25 pts (7-14 FG, 4-7 3FG, 7-7 FT), 3 reb, 3 stl, 38 min
Season: 21.5 pts (55.4%), 8.2 reb, 2.2 ast, 3.18 stl, 30.5 min

Cappie Pondexter, Rutgers -- vs. Temple (L47-48)
> 19 pts (8-16 FG, 2-2 3FG, 1-1 FT), 3 reb, 3 ast, 1 stl, 1 blk, 36 min
Season: 21.7 pts (51.9%), 3.7 reb, 3.9 ast, 1.60 stl, 36.6 min

Liz Shimek, Michigan State -- vs. Illinois (W72-61)
> 12 pts (6-12 FG, 0-0 FT), 11 reb, 2 stl, 34 min
Season: 18.9 pts (56.8%), 8.9 reb, 2.3 ast, 1.68 stl, 32.5 min

Crystal Smith, Iowa -- at Wisconsin (W68-59)
> 15 pts (3-7 FG, 1-2 3FG, 8-8 FT), 2 reb, 2 ast, 6 stl, 2 blk, 37 min
Season: 19.3 pts (47.2%), 3.7 reb, 3.3 ast, 2.56 stl, 32.6 min

Tiffany Stansbury, North Carolina State -- at Duke (L57-77)
> 8 pts (4-8 FG, 0-0 FT), 3 reb, 2 ast, 1 blk, 1 stl, 27 min
Season: 13.8 pts (56.1%), 7.3 reb, 1.1 ast, 1.71 blk, 25.6 min

Shanna Zolman, Tennessee -- at Vanderbilt (W80-68)
> 16 pts (5-13 FG, 4-8 3FG, 2-2 FT), 1 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl, 38 min
Season: 15.7 pts (44.2%), 2.9 reb, 2.7 ast, 0.67 stl, 32.5 min

The qualifying round for the 2006 EuroLeague wrapped up on Wednesday night, with three Lynx players in action.

Svetlana Abrosimova chipped in six points and two assists as Volgaburmash survived Ros Casares' upset bid, 59-58, in Valencia, Spain. The Russian side raced out to a 14-1 lead, but fell behind before a pair of Olga Arteshina free throws with 14 seconds left provided the winning margin. Janeth Arcain's miss at the buzzer allowed Volgaburmash to clinch Group A with a 9-1 record, winning the tie-breaker with Hungarian power MiZo-Pecs. Arteshina led the way with 17 points, and Maria Stepanova added 12 points and 13 rebounds.

Also in Group A, Nicole Ohlde's 14 points, 11 rebounds and three assists helped Dexia Namur snap a seven-game losing streak by edging USO Mondeville Basket, 74-68, in Namur, Belgium. Rebekkah Brunson topped Dexia with 22 points and 15 rebounds, while Mondeville's leading scorer, former Lynx guard Grace Daley, was limited to 11 points. The victory enabled Dexia (2-8) to advance to the EuroLeague's eighth-final round, where they'll face Volgaburmash in a best-of-three series beginning Jan. 31 in Samara, Russia.

Finally, Kristi Harrower erupted for 20 points, nine rebounds, seven assists and three steals in US Valenciennes' Group C-clinching 68-61 home victory over Lietuvos Telekomas. Wednesday's win avenged USVO's (9-1) only EuroLeague blemish of the year, a 79-75 loss on Nov. 24 in Vilnius, Lithuania. Katie Douglas tallied 25 points and Jurgita Streimikyte added 20 for Lietuvos, which finished 7-3 in table play. USVO will take on Famila Schio (Italy) in a best-of-three eighth-final series starting Jan. 31 in Valenciennes, France.

Welcome to the latest addition to the Minnesota Lynx website. We are opening this blog to provide more infomation and updates to our fans on a regular basis. Players, coaches and front office staff will provide you updates to keep you informed of what is happening with the Lynx, the WNBA and our players. I hope you enjoy this new feature.

I hope you all had a merry Christmas and a happy New Year!!!!! I certainly did even though it was a short 4 day break! During that time, my little brother got married which was so exciting! Also, our Toledo team had a tournament down in New Orleans at Tulane University, so it was just a remarkable site to be able to see all the hurricane destruction and devastation. It was a very humbling experience as I saw so many houses/neighborhoods totally wiped out. The New Year brought in a Hollywood superstar that I got to meet! Her name is Alyson Stoner, and she is Sarah Baker (the tomboy) in the movies Cheaper by the Dozen I & II. She also is a great dancer, and has danced in Missy Elliot and Eminem videos. She is from the Toledo area, and she came to one of our teams shootarounds. She said that she wants to play basketball here at Toledo one day! I will have to admit, I was star struck at this 12 year old girl because she was my favorite in the movie Cheaper by the Dozen!!!!! Okay, so I'm excited! It was a fun day! Other than that, my Toledo team is doing alright. We are 6-8 and struggling a bit, but hoping to bounce back as we get into conference play. But I'm just amazed it's already the middle of January....time is flying, which means the Lynx season will be here in no time! I CAN'T WAIT!!!!

Action has started up again in Europe following the holiday break, and no Lynx player has been on a bigger tear than Chandi Jones. The 5-11 guard, competing for Stem Marine Parma in the Italian A1 League this winter, scored a game-high 24 points -- adding seven rebounds, three assists, three steals and two blocks -- in Sunday's 82-69 loss to Germano Zama Faenza. Dubravka Dacic added 17 point and eight rebounds for Parma, while foul-plagued Michelle Snow was held to 11 points.

Jones has reached double figures in all but one game for her Italian side this year, tallying a season-high 25 points in the Nov. 6 victory over TermoCarispe La Spezia. Starting with that contest, she's averaged 17.5 ppg while shooting 52.3% (57-for-109) from the floor, 52.6% (10-for-19) from three-point range and 81.6% (31-for-38) from the free-throw line. Jones is also contributing 5.1 rpg, 2.30 spg and 1.4 apg in those 10 games, logging an average of 35.3 mpg.

Parma, playing shorthanded after some roster shuffling (dropping Eva Nemcova and Teresa Palmisano in favor of Masha Maiorano), slipped to 8-8 on the season -- 11th in the 16-team table -- while Faenza (11-6) kept pace with front-running Famila Schio, 78-73 victors over Lenzi Profexional Bolzano on Sunday behind a 36-point explosion from Penny Taylor. Six teams are tied a game back of Schio (12-5), while three more ring in at 10-7. Parma's next game is Sunday night at Banco di Sicilia.