Lindsay Whalen wins at place she started career

MINNEAPOLIS - The first time Lindsay Whalen played in the Williams Center at the University of Minnesota, it wasn't pretty.

At least according to the former Minnesota star's best recollection. It's been more than a decade.

"We - well, the legend has it that we was at the pavilion first and then the water main broke, and it flooded the pavilion and we had to come over here. So it was our first game at Williams," she said of her first game. "That night we had the most we ever had before that game was 2,000 people at the sports pavilion, and the first game over here we had 11,000.

"Yeah, I don't know, it just kind of worked out, and that was our first game, and none of us knew how to basically play because we had never seen that many people to watch us play, and I think we beat Indiana that night, but I think the score was like 22-18 at halftime because we didn't know what we were doing."

Whalen's photo now hangs in the hallway and from the rafters of her old college arena, where she helped turn the program into a competitive one in the Big Ten. She was the Big Ten Player of the Year, an All-American and set the school record for points scored.

So when the WNBA Finals were forced to relocate to Williams due to construction at the Target Center, she found herself back in a familiar place.

The noise every time she scored was deafening. She had 17 points and eight assists - including one incredible behind-the-back no-look pass - in her team's 85-76 win over the Sparks. It's her fourth WNBA title won since she returned to Minneapolis in 2010.

Playing at her old gym, she said, gave her a bit of confidence.

"Yeah, I mean, it's - I knew when (Lynx owner Glen) Taylor made the decision and the commitment to us to make sure that we have air-conditioning and everything here, I knew it was going to be special for us," she said. "I didn't exactly know how it was going to turn out. I just kind of felt like - I felt good about it. I felt good about our chances being in this building, because I know what - I know I've been a part of some special games here and some special runs.

"For him to have that commitment to us and to our fans is really special, and you know, we owed it to them to give it our best shot and to leave it all on the floor and see what happens. It doesn't get any sweeter than to bring another trophy home and another ring. But to do it here is definitely pretty cool."

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