The Minnesota Lynx won their first six games coming out of the Olympic break before enduring a lopsided defeat.
The Lynx will look to get back on track Sunday afternoon when they host the Chicago Sky in Minneapolis.
Minnesota (23-9) dropped a 94-76 decision to the Dallas Wings on Friday. The Lynx were outrebounded 11-5 on the offensive boards and allowed the Wings to score 25 points off 16 turnovers.
“Obviously, it was disappointing,” Minnesota head coach Cheryl Reeve. “We didn’t show up. A hard game in a place where this team is playing well and wants to be in the playoffs. We didn’t show up correctly, physically. We didn’t compete. We didn’t get after it.”
Individually, the loss wasn’t because of Napheesa Collier. The All-Star forward led the Lynx with 17 points and 10 rebounds, marking her third double-double in the last seven games. Collier has averaged 22.4 points and 9.1 rebounds per game in the last seven games.
Chicago (11-20) enters Sunday’s contest on a five-game losing skid. Despite the stretch, the Sky still sit in the final playoff spot.
Like the Lynx, the Sky enter September hoping to forget about the final game of August. Chicago dropped a 100-81 decision to the Indiana Fever on Friday.
After starting strong, Chicago fell flat and were outscored 77-55 after the first quarter.
“It’s been a theme for probably the last four games in a row where we haven’t been able to close it out or we haven’t been consistent,” said Michaela Onyenwere, who had 20 points versus the Fever. “It has to come from in-game experience. We have to be able to adjust and make those adjustments a little bit quicker.”
Rookie Angel Reese has averaged 16.1 rebounds and 12.1 points per game since the Olympic break. She totaled 11 and 10, respectively, to notch her WNBA rookie record 23rd double-double of the season on Friday.
Chicago will need more than Reese to compete with the Lynx Sunday. When the two sides last met on June 30, Minnesota defeated the Sky 70-62.
–Field Level Media