A pair of Western Conference teams enduring disappointing seasons will play a home-and-home set this week.
Minnesota will host Seattle on Tuesday in Minneapolis, then the teams will have a rematch on the Storm’s home floor on Thursday.
Both teams are saddled with 4-9 records heading into this week’s action. Seattle will look to post back-to-back victories for the first time this season after rolling past the Phoenix Mercury 97-74 on Saturday.
As usual, Jewell Loyd led the Storm. She racked up 24 points, seven rebounds and four steals. The second unit also played a crucial role.
Sami Whitcomb, Joyner Holmes and Yvonne Turner combined for 32 of the Storm’s 36 bench points.
“Huge contributions, especially Joyner coming in with her activity level and her stretching the floor and hitting a couple of threes and her rebounding,” Storm head coach Noelle Quinn said. “It really helped give us a boost. Sami coming in and hitting those 3s. I thought Vonny also had a very good game. Just her minutes gave us some poise, pace and a good defensive effort.”
The Lynx haven’t played since getting thumped by Connecticut 89-68 on Thursday. They shot 31.6 percent from the field against the Sun after winning three of their previous four games.
A perennial playoff team until last year, the Lynx have gone just 1-5 at home this season.
“Knowing how to get a stop, knowing how to be efficient on offense at key times, and what you’re running, why you’re running it — the details to get you the great shot. That’s what past teams have done that we try to impart to this team,” Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve said.
Napheesa Collier has led the team in scoring the last six games. She had 21 points and seven rebounds against Connecticut. Reeve knows the team needs to find more offensive answers.
“(Collier) is just such the focal point that you have to run every play for her,” Reeve said. “And that gets really hard because everybody knows that.”
–Field Level Media
