the Bearcats this season proved to be too much. Cincinnati was outscored 53 to 10 in the second half and 29 to 1 in the fourth quarter after holding a lead at halftime. Johnson fell hard with under

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- She should have been happy, but thats not the way newly named WNBA Coach of the Year Cheryl Reeve operates. Scanning a stat sheet on the way to the postgame news conference Friday, Reeve appeared puzzled, as if the numbers didnt add up. But she couldnt figure out why.In a physical, long, brutal game that featured 54 fouls and 68 free throws, Reeves Lynx outlasted the Mercury 96-86 to take a 2-0 lead in their best-of-five semifinal. The series shifts to Phoenix for Game 3 on Sunday (ESPN, 5 p.m. ET), a contest the Mercury seem ill-equipped to win after again failing to make defensive stops at critical junctures.Yet it was Reeve who criticized her own teams defense, glossing over the 20 turnovers forced and 19 points generated off them. Two years ago, the Mercury blew the Lynx off the floor in the decisive Game 3 of the semifinals, denying the Lynx a shot at becoming the first team to win back-to-back titles since Los Angeles in 2001-02. That remains the only milestone to elude the Lynx in this run of three championships in five years.So Reeve knows what awaits if Minnesota isnt careful. Reeve had already left the Xcel Energy Center floor when Sylvia Fowles, in a postgame interview piped throughout the arena, told the sellout crowd of 11,923, Thats what home-court advantage is about. See you in the next round.Fowles presumed a series-closing victory in Phoenix, which hosts Game 3 and, if necessary, Game 4. Reeve wasnt presuming anything. Phoenix shot 45 percent from the field after making 53.5 percent in Game 1, and that wasnt anywhere close to acceptable for Reeve.I have to watch the video to really understand what happened, in terms of the things we werent able to get done, and the ease of which they scored -- again, she said. To have a chance to win on the road, we have to find a way to be, not just a little bit better, but considerably better.I dont have the mindset of going out there and winning one of two. Our mindset is to win Game 3.Friday, the Lynx muddled through a game of whistle attrition. Four fouls were called in the first two minutes, two on Phoenixs Brittney Griner. Maya Moore pumped in 14 of her 26 points in the first quarter as the Lynx jumped to a 35-24 lead. As in Game 1, Phoenix never regained the lead after falling behind in the first half, coming no closer than six points.Tonight it was about not bringing the appropriate effort and intensity right from the start to let them score 35 points, Mercury coach Sandy Brondello said. That was the ballgame. The last three quarters I think we competed and we showed we can play with them, but you cant play with the Lynx for 30 minutes. Theyre too good of a team.With the Lynx rolling, the fouls piling up and Phoenix going more than five minutes without a basket, Brondello gambled by putting Griner back in with 3:23 left in the quarter. Griner picked up her third foul defending a Moore drive in the quarters final minute. She didnt return until the second half, when she picked up a fourth foul quickly.Griner finished with no baskets, two points, and two rebounds in 18:19. This after she grabbed only two rebounds in Game 1, a total she called ridiculous and unacceptable in a playoff game.She never really got back into the game, Brondello said. She shouldnt put her head down, because she got us this far.Fowles, named the WNBAs Defensive Player of the Year earlier in the day, attacked the basket with Griner on the bench but soon committed her third foul. So did backup forward Natasha Howard.With backup center Janel McCarville unavailable because of back spasms, the rugged work fell to veteran power forward Rebekkah Brunson, who responded with her 12th career playoff double-double (13 points and 11 rebounds) in 35 minutes. Fowles nearly had a double-double herself (14 points, 9 rebounds) in only 23 minutes.I dont think I did anything exceptional, Brunson said. I dont think I did more than I do usually.Reeve disagreed.Its a tough time for your post players to be sitting next to you for so many minutes, she said. We needed every bit of Rebekkah Brunson tonight. For Natasha and Syl, anything Rebekkah wants for the next couple of days, those two need to do for her.Reeve describes herself as a worrier, and that was apparent looking ahead to Game 3. She knows Phoenix owns the leagues second-best home record since 2014 (40-11, just behind Minnesotas 44-8).She expects greatness from Diana Taurasi, who scored 12 of her 31 points in the fourth quarter. She cant presume Phoenix will shoot 2-for-12 from beyond the arc again, as it did Friday. Moore didnt score in the fourth quarter Friday, and Reeve said the former league MVP needs to be better.I hope were really smart and kind of adjust and be way more disciplined in our efforts on the defensive end, Reeve said. Offense is not going to be easy. So the mindset is, if we dont score, they dont score.Brunson conceded her coach had a point.I think we know how we want to play defensively, and I dont think weve quite gotten that done, she said.Give Phoenix a lot of credit. Theyre a great team and theyre really testing us. There are some things we can do a little bit better, some things we can fine-tune just to keep this thing rolling. We know what it is, and were going do whatever we can to get back to playing the way we want to play defense.Nike NFL Jerseys China . The Cleveland Indians, Tampa Bay Rays, and Texas Rangers all won on Sunday meaning the Rangers will host the Rays in a play-in game on Monday. Cheap NFL Jerseys China . Barcelona also left injured defenders Carles Puyol, Javier Mascherano and Jordi Alba out of its squad for the trip to Glasgow. That means that Marc Bartra will probably start again in the centre of the defence alongside Gerard Pique. https://www.chinajerseysnfl.us/ . Dallas hasnt ruled out the star quarterback for Sunday nights game against Philadelphia, but all signs point to Romos back injury pushing Kyle Orton into the starting role after two years of limited play as the backup. Surely Ortons name isnt the first that comes to mind for fans wanting a change after years of damaging interceptions, fumbles or, most infamously, the field goal flub when Romo dropped the snap on a kick that could have won his first playoff game in 2006. Cheap Nike NFL Jerseys Free Shipping . White came in fourth place in the event. He was the two-time defending gold medallist. The gold medal went to Swiss snowboarder Iouri Podladtchikov. Wholesale NFL Jerseys China . -- Former San Diego Chargers safety Paul Oliver was found dead at his Atlanta-area home Tuesday night, and a medical examiner said Wednesday that the ex-player committed suicide.COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Turning to the leading scorer and overall driving force on a team is always a smart move when struggling, and Ohio State coach Kevin McGuff did just that.Kelsey Mitchell scored 23 points and No. 9 Ohio State went on a 22-0 run in the third quarter in an 80-38 victory over Cincinnati on Sunday.The 5-foot-8 guard helped spark the run with the Buckeyes (6-3) trailing 28-27 with 3 minutes left in the first half. She finished 7 for 11, with four baskets from 3-point range.Early on, Ohio State appeared sluggish, and struggled to make shots.We just didnt have a lot of energy, McGuff said. We looked like we were a little tight coming off of two loses. Just had to get our mojo back and get our confidence back going.Shanice Johnson led the Bearcats (6-2) with 10 points and 17 rebounds, and Ana Owens added nine points.Cincinnati held Ohio State to 9-of-34 shooting in the first half, while the Buckeyes missed their first seven shots. The Bearcats led by as many as 11 in the first half.Ohio State ended the first half on a 10-0 run to bring the game to within one at the midway point, and continued the streak for 11 more points to earn a 38-28 lead. The biggest downfall for the Bearcats in the second half was on the inside, as Cincinnati picked up just two points in the paint after halftime.Ohio State outscored the Bearcats 36 to 12 in the paint and held them to 14 of 72 shooting (19.4 percent) overall. The Bearcats went 4 of 32 (12.5 percent) from 3-point range. Alexa Hart picked up 10 points, and pulled down 12 total rebounds, and played 26 minutes in the absence of Stephanie Mavunga.(Mavungas absence) just gives us an opportunity to go out there and work hard and be effectivve on the court, she said.ddddddddddddCincinnati failed to make a single field goal in the fourth quarter. Overall, the Bearcats were outscored 53-10 in the second half.Ohio State combined for 42 defensive rebounds, and did not allow second chance opportunities for the Bearcats.BIG PICTUREOhio State: Ohio State was able to attack the hoop and outrebound Cincinnati with the larger lineup, and looked to be unstoppable with Mitchell hitting her marks.The Buckeyes benefited from another hot night from the guard, and scored more points in the second half than the Bearcats scored all game. The Buckeyes are now 4-2 at home, with nine players registering a score.Cincinnati: The first ranked team to meet the Bearcats this season proved to be too much. Cincinnati was outscored 53 to 10 in the second half and 29 to 1 in the fourth quarter after holding a lead at halftime. Johnson fell hard with under six minutes left and was removed from the game when two Ohio State players fell on her upper body and head. She is the teams leading scorer and did not return.MCGUFF MAKES BIG ADJUSTMENTSI thought we just settled for too many threes early in the game, McGuff said. In the second half, we started to get a little more balanced. We attacked the zone in the middle, and we were able to get the ball in the basket.The move from outside to under the rim allowed big point totals for Ohio State, and eventually opened up the long ball from Mitchell, who ended the game 4 of 6 from deep.UP NEXTOhio State: Host Southern University on Wednesday nightCincinnati: Host Xavier on Dec. 11. ' ' '