A terrific crowd of nearly 16,000 filled up Target Center this afternoon for the WNBA All-Star game. It turned out to be a fun game, with Captain Candace Parker’s team outlasting Elena Delle Donne’s squad by a final score of 119-112. Maya Moore had the biggest performance among Lynx players, piling up an 18-8-6 line on the way to her third consecutive All-Star MVP award. Getting it in front of her home crowd certainly made this one especially sweet. As is often the case in All-Star games, this was a game for the perimeter players, as Seimone Augustus poured in 14 on 6-8 shooting for Team Delle Donne off the bench, while Sylvia Fowles and Rebekkah Brunson were both quiet. It was also a big afternoon for the Sky’s Allie Quigley. She not only scored 18 off the bench for Team Parker to match Moore for team high honors, but at halftime she put on an absolute clinic in the Three-Point shooting contest, scoring 29 points in the final round to secure the victory. You should watch it. Really amazing. It was a terrific showcase for the WNBA as a whole and the Twin Cities in particular as a place where women’s basketball is thriving and popular. All of that said, I can’t wait for the season to resume Thursday night. The Lynx’ first three out of the break are at the Sparks, at the Storm, and home for the Dream. Just a huge stretch as they fight for playoff position in a crowded league table.<doc-sep>With banners representing four championship wins over the past seven years hanging from the ceiling Saturday afternoon, it seemed appropriate that four Lynx players — the most of any team — were on the court during the first WNBA All-Star Game to be played in Minneapolis. But who were the fans supposed to cheer for? Torn during the game, it’s obvious who they cheered at the end. Lynx forward Maya Moore was named the game’s most valuable player for the third consecutive time, the first player to win the award in her home city. She had 18 points and eight rebounds as her team, Team Parker, beat Team Delle Donne 119-112 at Target Center. Cheered wildly when the announcement was made, Moore reciprocated the support after the game. “It just felt good in there,” she said. “I think people were really excited to have it here at a fun time. … I appreciate having my teammates around and all the people who have been making this place a special place.” Changing the traditional Eastern vs. Western Conference format, the league this year went more playground-like with Elena Delle Donne and Candace Parker, the player-captains, choosing their teams from among the other 20 all-stars. Lynx players Seimone Augustus and Sylvia Fowles were on Team Delle Donne, and Rebekkah Brunson and Moore were on Team Parker. “For us to have four of our starters on this team on our home floor in front of these amazing fans meant everything,” Fowles said. Among them was Linae Larson, a 14-year-old from Richfield. She was a Junior All-Star for the game and was paired with Fowles as part of the 2016 Lynx honorary “Dream Team.” “We’re cheering for whatever team Syl is on,” said Larson, who has myopathy, a muscle disorder which causes her to often need a wheelchair. She also hoped to see some trash talk among Lynx teammates. She and her mom, Kelly, are first-year season-ticket holders, in part because, she says, the league shows that women can do anything they want. “(Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve) is the epitome of a role model standing up for what she represents, especially on societal issues,” she added. “It’s empowering.” Chicago’s Allie Quigley matched Moore with 18 points in Team Parker’s victory. Augustus had 14 points, third best for the losing side. But the score wasn’t what mattered for many; it was about the smiles and watching in person as the league’s best players went head-to-head. It was an overdue experience they’ll never forget. The thrill of the game, said 15-year-old Allison Letcher of Windom, Minn., was “watching all the great players play together and the competitiveness for the people on the same team going against each other.” Letcher was rooting for Moore and Team Parker, but her sister Alivia, 10, was rooting for Team Delle Donne because Augustus is her favorite player. “We come up when we can,” said their mom, Lisa. What they see is a league, now in its 22nd season, with probably the best talent pool it has ever had. Ratings for nationally televised games are up 38 percent over last year. “The pace of the game is incredibly fast,” said WNBA President Lisa Borders. “The players as individuals play well. The teams are incredible, also. But we have lots of records that are falling while the season is going on. The pace of play, the competitive nature and the physicality is just unbelievable.” Sporting a Moore jersey, Chris Morgan of Inver Grove Heights said he attends “quite a few” games each year. “There’s lots of energy, and the atmosphere is great with the fans and players.” The Lynx average 9,935 fans per game, second-best in the 12-team league. Playing at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul last year while Target Center was being renovated, Minnesota averaged 10,407 fans, a 12.3 percent increase over 2016 and the most since its inaugural season in 1999. “The biggest reason why we’re able to host the WNBA All-Star Game is because we have the best fans in the WNBA,” Reeve said Friday. “I hope all the all-stars for once enjoyed not being booed,” Moore joked. Phoenix guard Diana Taurasi is one of the most disliked Lynx opponents — she received the least amount of applause during introductions — but the league’s all-time leading scorer respects Lynx backers. “They’re so loyal. They come to the games, and they come to compete, too,” Taurasi said. “And you can appreciate that as a player when you walk into a building and the fans are so passionate like Minnesota fans. That’s what every franchise and every team strives to get to. … They set the bar, too, as fans for the league.” Parker, the leader of the rival Los Angeles Sparks, was shocked when a Lynx fan wanted a high-five.<doc-sep>The WNBA All-Star Game came to Target Center Saturday afternoon as a celebration of some of the best athletes in the world. One of those athletes is Minnesota Lynx star Maya Moore, who became the second player to ever win three All-Star Game MVPs with her 18 point, 8 rebound and six assist effort Saturday. Moore’s team, Team Parker, bested Team Delle Donne 119-112. Moore and Lynx teammates Rebekkah Brunson, Sylvia Fowles and Seimone Augustus all played Saturday, but not all for the same team. Moore joked after the game that Fowles, who played for Team Delle Donne, was participating in some friendly trash talking during the game. Fowles, Moore and company will be back in action all in the same uniform Thursday in Los Angeles as they take on the Sparks. League president speaks Before Moore dazzled the Target Center crowd on the court Saturday, WNBA President Lisa Borders spoke with reporters about the health of the league. She mentioned that TV ratings were up 35 percent and merchandise sales were up 50 percent. While the league appears to be trending in the right direction, Borders still says there is plenty of room for growth, especially when it comes to paying the players a larger salary. In society, women deserve more, period, full stop. Sports is not the only place where things aren’t as equal as we would like for them to be or as comparable as we would like for them to be so we want to take a leadership role here. We challenge ourselves and we challenge society to support this league and support these women. Top-line revenue and top-line growth is part of the answer to the entire question. Advertisement Borders went on to compliment the city of Minneapolis for playing host to this year’s All-Star Game. The league also announced next year’s game will take place in Las Vegas, Nevada.<doc-sep>Jordan Johnson/Getty Images Minnesota Lynx guard Maya Moore took home MVP honors as Team Parker defeated Team Delle Donne, 119-112, in the 2018 WNBA All-Star Game at Target Center in Minneapolis on Saturday afternoon. Moore, who was playing in front of a hometown crowd, took home her third straight All-Star MVP with 18 points (8-of-17 shooting), eight rebounds and six assists. That wasn't the only honor Moore nabbed. Thanks to her 18-point effort, the four-time WNBA champion passed Tamika Catchings and became the league's all-time All-Star Game scoring leader: Team Parker also received 18 points from Chicago Sky sharpshooter Allie Quigley, who put on a show during halftime's three-point shooting contest. During the final round of her showdown against Las Vegas aces shooting guard Kayla McBride, Quigley was unconscious and finished with 29 points to nab her second straight three-point shootout title: Team Parker added to its never-ending highlight reel with a dunk from Dallas Wings center Liz Cambage (11 points) in the game's waning seconds: Video Play Button Videos you might like Thanks to that slam, Cambage joined Lisa Leslie, Michelle Snow, Sylvia Fowles, Brittney Griner and Jonquel Jones as the only women to register dunks in the midseason exhibition. Over on Team Delle Donne, Washington Mystics guard Kristi Toliver dropped a game-high 23 points and tied an All-Star Game record with seven threes: Additionally, Las Vegas Aces center A'ja Wilson dropped 18 points and threatened to become the first rookie since Shoni Schimmel in 2014 to take home MVP. At this point, though, it merely feels like a matter of time before Wilson will be hoisting the hardware above her head.<doc-sep>
MINNEAPOLIS — Lynx star Maya Moore said she’s routinely asked if she has room for all of the awards she’s won in her basketball career. She’ll have to make space for another trophy after her performance on Saturday. Moore won her third straight All-Star MVP award to lead Team Parker past Team Delle Donne 119-112 in the WNBA All-Star Game. “Thank you for your concern for my storage space,” Moore deadpanned after she was asked the question again after she scored 18 points, grabbed eight rebounds, and dished out six assists to win the MVP award on her home court. “It’s crazy, it really is, to just be fortunate enough to continue to be in positions to win, to be playing well, to be healthy,” said Moore, who joined Lisa Leslie as the only three-time MVP of the game and became the all-time scoring leader in All-Star history, passing Tamika Catchings’ mark of 108 points. Allie Quigley of the Chicago Sky also scored 18 points and Skylar Diggins-Smith of the Dallas Wings added 17 points, eight rebounds, and eight assists for Team Parker. Team Delle Donne’s Kristi Toliver of the Washington Mystics led all scorers with 23 points, including 7-for-11 shooting on 3-pointers. Rookie A’ja Wilson of the Los Vegas Aces added 18 points. Toliver made five 3s in the final 5 minutes of the game as Team Delle Donne came back from a 14-point deficit. But Moore drilled a 3-pointer of her own with 1:26 to play, pushing Team Parker’s lead to six and all but sewing up the MVP award. NEW FORMAT Eschewing the traditional East-vs.-West format for the first time, the league let captains Elena Delle Donne of the Mystics and Candace Parker of the Los Angeles Sparks chose up sides from a pool of the top players in All-Star voting. That allowed for the rosters to be heavily dominated (16 of the 22 players) by the Western Conference, home of six of the top seven teams in the league standings. “You’re not going to make a bad pick,” Parker said of the process. “Everybody who’s out here is here is here for a reason, so it was just about having fun and playing with players you haven’t ever played with.” DEFENDING THE CROWN Quigley beat a field of six participants to win her second straight WNBA Three-Point Contest at halftime. After she and McBride tied with 18 in the head-to-head finals, Quigley caught fire in redo, scoring 29 of a possible 34 points and sending the crowd — and the sidelines — into a frenzy. “How did we follow the 3-point contest?” asked Parker, who called it her personal highlight of the day. “We had some of the best shooters in the world competing. To have to make 21 to even get into the top two, to then have a shoot off, to then have Allie hit 29? … That was awesome.” THROWING IT DOWN Wings star Liz Cambage capped off the contest with a dunk, becoming the sixth different player to do it in the game. “I was going to pull up and take a 3, but Candace said I should dunk it so I did,” said Cambage, a 6-foot-8 post who set a WNBA single-game scoring record earlier this year with 53 points. With talk of adding a skills contest to next year’s festivities, Quigley playfully suggested Cambage push for a dunk contest, a suggestion that the gregarious Australian shut down instantly. “Girl, I’m getting old now. I’m not in my early 20s (anymore),” said Cambage, who turns 27 next month. LOCAL LEGENDS Four players from the hometown Minnesota Lynx were selected for the game, two on each roster, creating a festive atmosphere with the crowd cheering loudly for both sides throughout the game. Moore and Brunson (four points, five rebounds) played for the winning side, while Seimone Augustus (14 points) and Sylvia Fowles (two points, six rebounds) played for Team Delle Donne. PASSING THE TORCH The second quarter began with the league’s career leaders in scoring (Diana Taurasi), rebounding (Rebekkah Brunson) and assists (Sue Bird) on the floor. But youth was served with Wilson scoring eight straight points for Team Della Donne. Wilson, the No. 1 overall pick out of South Carolina, was the only rookie selected for the game and scored 12 points in the second quarter to lead all scorers at halftime. “It was kind of bittersweet to see them win,” Fowles said.