Game Story
The Minnesota Lynx entered the night having lost three of their last five, clearly their worst stretch of play all season. With just six regular season games left in the season, they really needed to tune things up, particularly on the defensive end of the floor. Their first and only visit to Mohegan Sun Arena against the tenth place Connecticut Sun seemed like a perfect opportunity to right their ship.
However, the Sun they showed why they were winners of four of their last five games.
The home team
took an early lead out of the gates, attacking in transition before Minnesota could setup their halfcourt defense. Fortunately, for the Lynx, after going 2 for 12 in the second half of their loss to the Storm 48 hours ago, they poured in 5 of 7 three pointers to start the game. It felt as though they should’ve had a larger lead, but the Sun corralled six offensive rebounds to stay within arm’s reach.
The Lynx took a page out of the Sun’s book in the second quarter, pushing the pace in transition early and often. They scored eight straight points, using their defense to create fastbreak opportunities which grew their lead to double-digits. Courtney Williams was excellent, drilling all three of her three point attempts in the first half.
The only reason the Sun wasn’t looking down the barrel of a 20-point deficit was because of their continued work on the offensive glass. They nearly matched their first quarter production in the second quarter, resulting in nine more field goal attempts. The finished the game with 18 boards on that end. As a result, the Lynx lead settled at just 13 by halftime.
It didn’t take long for that to change.
Napheesa Collier, who had a rather quiet offensive night, showed why she is the reigning Defensive Player of the Year. She made three straight defensive stops that eventually fed back-to-back Lynx treys, pushing the lead up to 57-37 just a few minutes into second half. Credit to Connecticut, who threw caution to the wind and began hedging hard and doubling off screens near halfcourt. It led to some wild end-to-end action for both teams.
The Sun’s aggressiveness was rewarded with a 9 to 0 free throw advantage in the third quarter, slicing the Lynx advantage down to 12. It was former Connecticut fan favorite, Dijonai Carrington, that responded for Minnesota. She scored or assisted on 12 points to bridge the final two quarters, buying enough time until the starters came back in and jogged to the finish line.
Their 31st victory (A new franchise record) officially sealed the Lynx as the top seed for the entirety of the postseason. It will surely pay dividends, as the playoffs now feature a best of three format in round one, best of five in round two, and a new best-of-seven series in the WNBA finals.
Quick Hits
- Alanna Smith had a quietly effective night, leading the Lynx with 18 points on on 7 of 10 shooting. Her 4 of 6 mark from deep is going important for her to get into a good rhythm, as the perimeter thread is going to be big for Minnesota in the postseason.
- Napheesa Collier and the MVP debate continues to rage on. She has mentioned that the regular season MVP award is not something she is particularly concerned about, but an “off night” stat line of 17 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, and 3 blocks on her usual hyper-efficient shooting splits doesn’t hurt.
- It was another vintage night for Kayla McBride, who casually sunk 5 of 9 triples on her way to 15 points, 6 assists, and 2 steals. You can expect that every night from McBuckets.
- Minnesota claimed Jaylyn Sherrod off waivers after the Liberty cut her earlier this month. She officially got into the scoring column in a Lynx jersey, looking impressive with her downhill speed.
Highlights
Coming soon
Box Score
Up Next
The Lynx travel back home and get Sunday off before they host the Dallas Wings on Monday, September 1st at 7:00 PM CT. Minnesota is looking at a potential sweep of the last place Wings after winning all three of their matchups dating back to early June.
It’s unlikely Reeve is going to sit or rest players despite having the number one seed sealed though. Their less than stellar efforts in the last couple weeks is grounds for the starters to get back into a good rhythm.
