2015

For the first time in history, less than 50 percent of American households were middle class.

The Minnesota Lynx won their third WNBA title but it was a struggle with twelve regular season losses and a 7-3 playoff record (compared to 7-0 in 2013). Maya Moore made a dramatic three-pointer at the buzzer to beat Indiana 80-77 in the third game of the finals. The Lynx won the finals three games to two.

#29 Athlete #31 Event Maya Moore Three-Pointer Beats Indiana for Lynx' Second WNBA Title The Minnesota Lynx, WNBA champions in 2011 and 2013, looked as strong as ever at the beginning of the 2015 seasons. Maya Moore was the finals MVP in 2013 and regular season MVP in 2014. She was still in her prime at 26 years of age, and was named to the all-star team. Lindsay Whalen was now 33 but she scored eleven ppg and was an all-star. Seimone Augustus was 31 and saw her field goal percentage drop to 44, but she scored 14 ppg and made the all-star team. Rebekkah Brunson was 34 but held steady at eight points and eight rebounds per game. Then, in July 2015, the Lynx acquired Sylvia Fowles from the Chicago Sky. Over the rest of the season, Fowles averaged 15 points and eight boards for the Lynx. The Lynx were 12-4 when they acquired Fowles; they won their first three games with Fowles in the lineup, but finished just 10-8 after the trade. Their twelve losses were the most of any season between 2011 and 2017. In the playoffs, there were more close shaves. They beat the L.A. Sparks 91-80 to win that series two games to one. Moore scored 33 points. They swept the Phoenix Mercury, even winning in Phoenix 72-71 as Moore scored 40. But, they lost game one to the Indiana Fever at home, and it looked like 2012 all over again, when the Fever had beaten the Lynx three games to one in the final. The Lynx won game two at home 77-71 to set up a crucial game three in Indiana. The Fever shot 50 percent from the field and made 8-of-17 threes. Their quickness gave the Lynx fits, as it had done in 2012. Coach Cheryl Reeve sat Whalen through much of the game for that reason. But, the Lynx shot it even better, and the score was tied at 77 in the closing seconds. Then Moore, who had been held to 21 points, hit a three from the top of the key at the final buzzer for the win.  The Lynx lost game four on the road, but won game five at home 75-69. Moore scored just five points, but Fowles and Brunson dominated inside with 30 points and 25 rebounds. Fowles was named finals MVP, but make no mistake. This was Maya Moore’s team. During the regular season, she scored 20 ppg with seven rebounds, three assists and two steals. Fowles scored 15 with eight boards and two blocks. In the playoffs, Moore scored 23 with seven boards, three assists and two steals, while Fowles scored 13 with ten boards and two blocks. Even in the finals, Moore’s average line was 19-8-2-2-2 while Fowles’ was 16-9-1-1-1. Moore even blocked more shots than Fowles. Fowles outplayed Moore in one game, but it happened to be the clincher. Still, Moore got robbed. But, at least the Lynx didn’t get robbed, as would happen the following year, 2016, in the finals against the L.A. Sparks.

• The Minnesota Gopher women’s hockey team won their sixth NCAA title at 22-2-4, as Hannah Brandt and Rachel Ramsey won all-America honors for the second time. Meanwhile, the Gopher men’s hockey team was 23-13-3 as goalie Adam Wilcox retired with 73 wins, second best all-time, and a .922 save percentage. The Gopher volleyball team crashed its way into its fourth Final Four, its first under coach Hugh McCutcheon. They lost to Texas in the semi-finals, however, three games to one.

#23 (tie) Coach

Hugh McCutcheon

Along with Tubby Smith, Hugh McCutcheon was one of the highest profile Minnesota Gopher coaching hires ever. A New Zealand native, McCutcheon came to the U.S. to play volleyball for three years at Brigham Young (BYU). He played two years of professional volleyball in Finland and Japan before returning to become an assistant coach at BYU. Beginning in 2001, he coached various U.S. national teams. In 2005, he became head coach of the men’s team, which won the gold medal in Tokyo in 2008. Then, he became head coach of the women’s team, whom he helped to silver at the London games of 2012 and three golds at the world Grand Prix.

He took over the Minnesota Gophers in 2012. Mike Hebert had of course built the program into a national power, winning 74 percent of his matches, 70 percent in the Big 10, while taking the Gophers to the Final Four in 2003, 2004, 2007 and 2009. McCutcheon had a pair of very large shoes to fill, but he has mostly succeeded. He has won seven or eight more matches out of 100 than Hebert did, and has taken the Gophers to two Final Fours in seven years, just incrementally better than Hebert’s four in 15. Hebert won just one Big 10 title; McCutcheon now has two.

McCutcheon has had 27 all-Americans in seven years, an eye-popping average of four per year. Setter Samantha Seliger-Swanson was a four-time all-American who played in two Final Fours, while hitter Alexis Hart earned all-America honors three times. 

• The St. Thomas football team advanced all the way to the NCAA D3 championship game, where they lost to perennial power Mt. Union (OH), 49-35. This was Mt. Union’s 19^th championship game in 23 years and this was their twelfth win against seven losses. St. Thomas previously had lost to Mt. Union in the 2012 final, 28-10.

• Adrian Peterson ran for 1,485 yard for the Minnesota Vikings, who were a respectable 10-6, though that meant a road trip to Seattle to open the playoffs. The Vikings had Seattle on the ropes but missed a short field goal as time expired, and lost 10-9.  The Minnesota Wild were a respectable 46-28-6 and beat the St. Louis Blues in the first round of the playoffs. The Wild got goalie Devan Dubnyk from Arizona in January and Dubnyk was spectacular the rest of the way at 27-9-2, 1.78, though just 4-6, 2.53 in the playoffs. 

Year	Athlete of the Year	Team of the Year	Coach of the Year	Event of the Year
2015	1. Moore 2. Peterson (North Division champion) 3 (tie). Devan Dubnyk, Minnesota Wild Adam Wilcox, Minnesota Gopher hockey (Big 10 champion)	1. Minnesota Gopher women’s hockey (22-2-4, WCHA and NCAA champions) 2. Minnesota Lynx (29-15 including playoffs, WNBA champion) 3. Minnesota Gopher volleyball (30-5)	1. McCutcheon 2. Reeve 3. Frost	1. The Minnesota Lynx beat the Indiana Fever 80-77 in game 3, and won their third WNBA title. 2. Seattle beat the Minnesota Vikings 10-9 in the NFL playoffs. 3. Mt. Union beat St. Thomas 49-35 (to win the D3 football title.