WNBA Playoffs: Lynx series vs. Seattle begins Friday

The Minnesota Lynx won the WNBA title last season, and they'll begin their first playoff series on Friday as they look to repeat as champions. The team insists they are taking things one step at a time, though, and Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve had the following to say about the possibility of repeating (via the Pioneer Press):

"With fans and the media, you could tell the emphasis with them was all about us repeating as WNBA champions," coach Cheryl Reeve said this week. "People thought it was going to be easy, and that might have been perpetuated a bit when we started (10-0) to open the season. Within our core group, we don't utter a word about winning a title. We haven't discussed it once. That's so far out there. If you focus on winning a championship, you'll stumble. You just can't talk about it."

The Lynx finished the regular season with the league's best record at 27-7, and their first opponent in the 2012 playoffs will be the fourth-seeded Seattle Storm. The Storm finished the regular season at 16-18.

Game 1 of the best-of-three Western Conference Semifinals will tip off at 8:00 p.m. CT with ESPN2 televising the action.