The good news for the Minnesota Lynx is that they’ve turned around an 0-6 start by winning four of their last six games.
The bad news is that they will have to beat teams other than Los Angeles to keep their recent run of good form going.
Minnesota will get a chance to do so when it gets a crack at the Connecticut Sun on Thursday night in Minneapolis.
The Lynx (4-8) are coming off Tuesday night’s 67-61 win in Los Angeles, the third time they’ve beaten the Sparks in 10 days.
Napheesa Collier carried Minnesota offensively with 26 points and 14 rebounds, canning 12 of 20 shot attempts from the field. Her effort on the glass helped limit Los Angeles to four offensive rebounds.
“In terms of offense, she’s really found her way,” Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve said of Collier. “Her getting going coincides with our being more successful.”
Collier is averaging 20.9 points and 7.6 rebounds per game for Minnesota, which hopes to have Dorka Juhasz back in the lineup. Juhasz missed the second half of Tuesday night’s game after getting smacked in the face while making a steal.
Meanwhile, Connecticut (10-3) remained in second place in the WNBA with an 85-79 win on Tuesday night in Seattle. But the Sun might have suffered a big loss when center Brionna Jones went down in the final minute with a right leg injury that required her to be helped off the floor. She has been ruled out for Thursday’s game.
Losing Jones for any length of time might be a severe blow for Connecticut. She averages 15.9 points and 8.2 rebounds per game, and both marks rank second on the team. Jones had 13 points and four boards at Seattle.
Alyssa Thomas notched her third career regular-season triple-double, which tied the WNBA record set by Candace Parker and Sabrina Ionescu, with 13 points, 15 rebounds and 12 assists. Counting postseason play, Thomas has a league-record five triple-doubles.
The Sun have won their last six matchups with the Lynx, including an 89-84 decision on June 1 in Minneapolis.
Connecticut has won four of its last five games overall.
“It’s an up-and-down league, so you got to get your wins when you can,” Sun forward DeWanna Bonner said after Connecticut’s victory over the Sparks on Sunday.
–Field Level Media
