MINNEAPOLIS -- Janel McCarville has been privy to it since her college days in the early 2000s.
Lindsay Whalen, willing in layups and pouncing on loose balls and rebounds while being thrashed to the hardwood floor. Grit personified.
Showcasing it at the age of 20 against collegiate competition is one thing. Remaining just as tenacious versus the top women's basketball players in the world more than a decade later is another.
Yet the more Whalen continues to scrap into her 30s, the more of a lift it gives her teammates.
"That's a fire starter," said McCarville, Whalen's Twin Cities comrade with both the Lynx and the Gophers. "It gets you going. When you see her in the timeouts talking to people and saying what we need to do and then coming out and being the person to do it, putting her money where her mouth is, that definitely gives the team something to build off of, and then get right behind her."
Whalen was her usual igniting self in Tuesday night's 83-72 victory over Los Angeles at the Target Center, muscling her way to 16 crucial points and coming within a rebound of her second points-boards double-double in a Lynx uniform. Minnesota (14-6) needed every ounce of its leader's effort to overcome a severe overall rebounding deficit and vanquish the Sparks for the third time in three tries this season.
Typically, Whalen shies away from personal, introspective comment. But Tuesday night in front of 7,920 fans, she delved into her desires following a lackluster individual and team performance in an 87-80 setback Sunday at New York.
"I was definitely fired up and ready for this one tonight," said Whalen, her limbs heavily wrapped in ice as has become a routine postgame requirement. "That's a point guard's job, is to lead and set the tone offensively and defensively."
Said Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve: "She wanted to be the one that led our team in toughness."
Whalen did it Tuesday, shooting 6-for-10 from the floor and tallying nine rebounds, five assists and just one turnover. Her indelible moxie helped offset a dismal 20-1 offensive boards advantage that allowed Los Angeles (7-11) to outscore the Lynx 21-2 on second-chance points.
So did a 33.8-percent field-goal clip from the Sparks, brought about in part by Minnesota's stingy defense that pressed them into shooting outside the paint often.
Doggedness has defined Whalen's career, but she's not as young as she used to be. Therefore, the exemplary outings come more sporadically than they have in years past.
Still, continued care for her body has her holding up extraordinary well for a woman who's endured as much wear-and-tear as her attacking style has produced.
"I told her it was great to see her down in her defensive stance," Reeve said. "She said 'Coach, no, I was tired.' I had my hands on my knees. But yeah, she's just so mentally tough -- she wanted to win really, really badly."
That exacted desire is especially imperative with fellow veteran Rebekkah Brunson still out with a knee injury. Seimone Augustus also missed her fifth game -- fourth in a row -- with left-knee bursitis.
"You know, we just have to step up," Whalen said. "Rebekkah's out, Mone's out -- everybody needs to do a little more."
And even a decade removed from her exploits at the University of Minnesota, Whalen remains counted upon as a spark that's willing to sacrifice both body and personal acclaim.
Her teammates tend to follow suit. In Tuesday's win, the Lynx -- who are now a game back of Phoenix in the Western Conference standings -- finished with a season-high 27 assists. Led by Devereaux Peters with six, six Minnesota players recorded three or more assists.
"We get so much life from Lindsay Whalen," said forward Maya Moore, who recorded her franchise record seventh 30-point game this season on the night she was announced as the WNBA All-Star Game's top fan vote recipient. "I don't know if she hears it enough, how much we appreciate how she puts her body on the line."
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