The Minnesota Lynx aim to bounce back from their latest loss when they host the Connecticut Sun on Thursday night in Minneapolis, Minn., in a clash between two teams jockeying for playoff positioning.
Winners of the Commissioner’s Cup against the New York Liberty 94-89 on June 25, the Lynx (14-5) have won seven of their past 10 games but lost on Tuesday night on the road to the first-place Liberty, 76-67. Napheesa Collier finished with 15 points and 10 rebounds for Minnesota, but Jonquel Jones and Breanna Stewart combined for 38 points and 29 boards for New York.
In the final eight minutes of the contest, the Lynx shot just 1-of-11 from the floor and 0-of-5 on 3-pointers.
“I think our shots weren’t falling,” Collier said. “They were playing off our offense. I think that hurt us.”
It was the fifth time this season that the Lynx have shot less than 39 percent from the floor. They are now 2-3 in those games.
The Sun (15-4), meanwhile, are coming off an 83-72 road win against the Phoenix Mercury on Monday. Before that result, Connecticut had lost three of its past four games. Five Sun players scored in double figures against the Mercury. Alyssa Thomas piled up 10 points, 12 rebounds and six assists.
Thomas leads the WNBA in assists per game this season with 7.5, is fifth in rebounding with 9.5 boards per game, and also averages 12.1 points and 1.6 steals per game. She does a little bit of everything for the Sun and does it all at a high level.
Later this month, Thomas — playing for Team USA in a pre-Olympics tune-up — will face off against her teammates DeWanna Bonner and Brionna Jones in the WNBA All-Star Game.
“I’m going to try to bust her up,” Bonner said jokingly about facing Thomas, who is engaged to Bonner. “It’s going to be great competition. … If I score in her face, I’m coming out because I don’t want to play anymore, because I don’t want her to get back.”
The Sun beat the Lynx in their last meeting, 83-82 in overtime, on May 23. Bonner scored 20 points, while Collier had 31 for the Lynx.
–Field Level Media