Minnesota Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve backs one of her players to become this season's Defensive Player of the Year. Alanna Smith, who's signed to the Lynx on a two-year deal worth $300,000, has made a strong case to be this year's DPOY, averaging 2.0 blocks and 1.3 steals.Reeve recognized her value and gave Smith her flowers. During a post-game press conference after Minnesota beat the New York Liberty on Sunday, Reeve explained why she thought that her starting forward deserves to be DPOY."I can't tell you how much we depend on (Alanna Smith)," Reeve said. "I just know that when we were playing against her in Chicago, that's the one that (Napheesa Collier) said, 'I don't like playing against her.' We saw it. Shot blocking. (Smith) and (Collier) the first day they played defense together, their synergy was terrific. ... But (Smith) is absolutely my choice for Defensive Player of the Year."Last season, Smith nearly won the DPOY award as she finished second. She averaged 1.5 blocks and 1.4 steals that year. Seeing how she has significantly better numbers this season, she could finally win the award.Alanna Smith helps Lynx beat Liberty with her defenseIt was a 2024 WNBA Finals rematch between the Minnesota Lynx and New York Liberty on Sunday. While the Liberty came out on top, capturing the gold last year, Minnesota has proven that they're ready to win it all this season after beating the defending champions 83-71.The huge difference maker on Sunday for Minnesota was Alanna Smith. Last year's Defensive Player of the Year runner-up proved why she could win the award this season. She created multiple defensive stops, shutting down Emma Meesseman from creating plays for New York in the process.Smith showed up strong, posting eight points, nine rebounds, seven assists, four steals and three blocks. Helping her on the offensive end was a collective effort among Kayla McBride (18 points), DiJonai Carrington (15 points), Courtney Williams (14 points), and Natisha Hiedeman (13 points).Minnesota remains on top of the WNBA mountain, with a 27-5 record this season, as the playoffs are rapidly approaching. With only 12 games remaining in their season, the lowest they could possibly drop is in third place by the end of the season.