– by Adesina O. Koiki
A Lot of Sports Talk editor-in-chief
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NEW YORK — While the comments of Minnesota Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve soon after losing on the Emma Meesseman free agency sweepstakes (“She made the wrong choice.”) made headlines, one of the bigs on last year’s WNBA runners-up, Alanna Smith, continues to dominate games in her own style on the court that the national headlines that have been eluded her before this season will give way to her being on the WNBA marquee as frequently as any other in the league by the end of the season.
While Smith was only tied for fifth on the team in scoring during the Lynx’s 83-71 win over the New York Liberty in their first meeting in Brooklyn since the deciding game of last season’s WNBA Finals, the Aussie also produced one of the most unique stat lines seen in any WNBA stat sheet this season or in any other, as she also contributed nine rebounds, seven assists, four steals and three blocks. Just two nights ago, Smith put on her scorer’s hat for one of the rare times in the season, leading Minnesota with 25 points during its win over the Washington Mystics.
Though both teams played without their respective superstars due to injury, Napheesa Collier for Minnesota and Breanna Stewart for New York, that didn’t mean that a superstar performance from a big was going to be a stretch, and Smith’s do-it-all versatility was on display, especially during the Lynx’s 16-3 run to close out the third quarter that game them the lead for good.
Smith scored zero points during that run, yet had two steals — on back-to-back possessions — that led to a DiJonai Carrinton three and a Natisha Hiedeman layup that game the Lynx a 61-54 lead. Also, Smith had three assists during that stretch, including one on Hiedeman’s running layup right before the buzzer that saw Minnesota take a 66-57 lead into the fourth quarter. That lead never fell below nine for the rest of the contest.
While the groundswell for Smith and her candidacy as the favorite for the league’s defensive player of the year award continues to generate momentum, it’s as appropriate, if not more so, to think about Smith as one of the best players in the game, period.
*Editor’s note: Above the byline is the photo gallery from Sunday afternoon’s game, with photos taken by ALOST staff photographer Chris Gonzalez. After clicking on a photo to enlarge the picture, press the left and right arrow buttons on either side of the caption to scroll through the rest of the pictures that appear on the first page. Also, click on the numbers and/or arrow appearing immediately below the picture grid to load the next set of photos. There are 43 pictures in total.
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