Amber Harris likely will be remembered as the “other” Minnesota Lynx first-round draft pick in 2011. The 6-foot-5 center from Xavier was taken No. 4 overall, three spots behind Maya Moore, who is considered a future WNBA superstar.
Moore, a three-time national player of the year at Connecticut, draws the media attention, the interview requests and is the focal point of marketing campaigns. As for Harris, her presence seems a mere afterthought.
“It doesn’t make me feel bad at all,” Harris said after scoring 10 points and grabbing 10 rebounds to help Minnesota record a 71-66 exhibition victory over the Indiana Fever in front of 2,055 at Gangelhoff Center on the Concordia-St. Paul campus.
“I get it. I understand the situation,” Harris said. “When you have the chance to play with Maya Moore, you are glad about it.”
Veteran power forward Rebekkah Brunson scored 11 points and added eight rebounds for the new-look Lynx, who feature six WNBA all-stars and a multitude of marquee players who expect to snap a playoff drought that dates to 2004.
Harris showed why the Lynx have coveted her dominance in the low post. She played nearly 16 minutes and was 5 of 7 from the field with seven defensive rebounds.
“I have the ability to adjust to game conditions,” she said. “I played hard and will continue to do so. I don’t feel like I have to prove my worth. Being linked to Maya is just fine. She is a great player.”
Moore started at forward, playing 22 minutes and scoring four points. She also had three assists, three turnovers and committed four fouls.
“I don’t like to necessarily base my performance on points, because like (Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve) was saying, there’s a lot of ways you can impact the game, so that’s what I try to do,” Moore said. “I try to get some assists, get some rebounds, force some tough shots. Overall, I thought I filled the stat sheet a little bit in certain areas, but I’m definitely not satisfied with where I am.”
Said Reeve: “I am not worried about Maya.”
Harris’ performance not only pleased Reeve but was a welcome surprise.
“Of the eight practices we’ve had, two of them were good practices for Amber,” Reeve said. “If playing time was based on practice, she might have played two minutes. We have been around long enough to know that players like Amber can strike. I was happy with how she performed.
“Maya Moore casts a long shadow, but Amber has gone with the flow. To fly under the radar for Amber isn’t such a bad thing. When Maya is maybe not doing as well, here comes Amber swooping in.”
Harris’ teammates took notice of her performance.
“We laughed at Amber,” Seimone Augustus said. “She struggles at practice from time to time, but she’s a game-day player.”
Proud father: St. Paul coaching icon John Robinson couldn’t keep from beaming.
His daughter, Angel, a Lynx rookie, made her professional debut, scoring four points with two assists in 13 minutes. Angel, acquired in a draft-day trade with New York, was a high school standout at St. Paul Central, located just down Marshall Avenue from Gangelhoff Center.
“It was a beautiful thing to watch her,” John Robinson said. “It was surreal to watch her. I thought she did really well. She controlled the tempo of the game. It’s not about scoring points with her. She is about looking ahead and making plays.”
Robinson, a four-year standout at Marquette, was the Pioneer Press player of the year in 2007.
“It was good to be back playing at Concordia, back in the neighborhood,” Angel said. “When I heard (Reeve) call my name, I sprinted out there and did my job.”
Robinson is competing with fellow rookie Kachine Alexander, a Benilde-St. Margaret’s graduate, and Alexis Hornbuckle to back up Lindsay Whalen at point guard. Hornbuckle didn’t play Tuesday because of a strained left hamstring.
Crowd boost: Last season when the Lynx played host to Indiana in an exhibition game at Gangelhoff Center, the game drew about 600 fans. On Tuesday, the line to get into the arena stretched to the sidewalk and curled along Hamline Avenue.
“We have always said that if we put a winning product on the court, the fans will be energized to come and watch,” Lynx executive vice president Roger Griffith said. “We have a roster that we think is very special.”
Briefly: The teams play again next Tuesday at Indiana in the second and final preseason game for both clubs.
