The Minnesota Lynx opened their season with six straight losses but suddenly are displaying signs of progress.
Minnesota (2-7) will aim for its third victory in four games when it visits the Los Angeles Sparks on Friday night.
The Lynx defeated visiting Los Angeles 91-86 on Sunday with a scintillating comeback from an 11-point deficit with 3:38 remaining in the game. Minnesota scored the next 17 points while posting a stunning victory.
“We refused to lose,” guard Tiffany Mitchell said afterward. “We came together and it was like, ‘We can’t let this one slip away.'”
Napheesa Collier had a solid all-around game with 24 points, nine rebounds and six assists. She averages 20.2 points and 7.1 rebounds per game.
Mitchell added 17 points for Minnesota, which made 24 of 25 free throws.
Nneka Ogwumike scored 27 points and Lexie Brown added 21 for Los Angeles.
The Sparks (5-4) were back on the court Wednesday and recorded a solid 79-61 road win over the Dallas Wings.
Ogwumike posted 20 points and 10 rebounds for her fifth 20-point outing in the past six games. She has five double-doubles during the stretch and is averaging 21.1 points and 9.8 rebounds on the season.
Ogwumike reached a milestone with two steals versus Dallas to become the 17th player in WNBA history to reach 500. She has 501.
Dearica Hamby also had a strong performance against the Wings with 23 points and eight rebounds. She is averaging 10 points and 5.8 rebounds in her first season with the club after signing as a free agent in the offseason.
The Sparks will be looking to win two consecutive games for the second time this season.
Still, new coach Curt Miller is happy with the progress.
“I just love our unselfishness,” Miller said. “It’s the balance right now.”
Brown is Los Angeles’ second-leading scorer at 13.3 points per game, but she has failed to reach double digits in two of the past three games.
–Field Level Media
