Cheryl Reeve agrees on multi-year contract to remain Lynx coach

Deal should get officially signed this week.

January 4, 2016 at 8:10PM
Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve held up the WNBA 2015 championship trophy in October.
Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve held up the WNBA 2015 championship trophy in October. (Star Tribune file/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

Cheryl Reeve has reached an agreement on a multi-year deal to remain as coach of the Minnesota Lynx. Reeve – who has won three WNBA titles in her six seasons with the Lynx — won't comment on the deal until it is officially signed, which should come this week. The agreement keeps in place a coaching staff that has made the Lynx an annual WNBA title contender. Reeve came to Minnesota in 2010, going 13-21 in her first season. Since then, starting in 2011, the Lynx have gone a combined 127-43 in the regular season, won the WNBA's Western Conference title four times and won the league title three times, including in 2015. The most recent championship came despite lingering injuries to stars Seimone Augustus and Lindsay Whalen. With center Sylvia Fowles acquired at mid-season, Reeve adjusted her offense to accommodate the low-post scorer. It wasn't easy; the Lynx struggled in August, going 6-6 during the month, including a stretch in which Minnesota lost four of five games. But the Lynx rebounded, got past Los Angeles two games to one in the conference semifinals, swept Phoenix in the conference finals and defeated Indiana in five games to win their third title. The Lynx dropped the first game of the WNBA finals to Indianapolis at home, but rebounded to win three of the next four games, winning the title on the Target Center floor for the first time. The coming season will again be a challenge, with the expected return to Phoenix of star guard Diana Taurasi — who sat out the 2015 league season — and with the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro coming during the season. Lynx stars Maya Moore, Augustus, Whalen and Fowles are expected to be a part of the U.S. women's team.

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about the writer

Kent Youngblood

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Kent Youngblood has covered sports for the Star Tribune for more than 20 years.

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