Todd Barin
Web Editorial Associate
Twitter
7:00 p.m., Madison Square Garden
Where To Watch: ESPN 2
Where To Listen: 106.1 BOB FM
The 5-0 Minnesota Lynx will take center court in the Big Apple on Tuesday night when they take on the 2-2 New York Liberty.
New York suffered two tough overtime losses in the last two games, but fortunately for tonight’s home team, they’ve had a week off to rest and get ready for the 2015 WNBA Champions to come to town.
Before making dinner and sitting down to take in this evening’s nationally televised game, be sure to keep these interesting facts in mind:
– Although the Liberty’s record may not look all that impressive, the Bill Laimbeer coached-squad has played well this season, ranking first in rebounds per game, and fourth in both assists and points allowed per contest.
– Tonight will mark the Lynx’ fourth road game already this year and according to their last three performances outside of the Target Center, they seem to be gelling just fine with one another, winning by an average of 10.33 points per game.
– The Liberty held the best regular season record in the league last year and managed to take down Minnesota twice in their two games against one another.
Coming Off Of…
New York lost a very competitive game to the Atlanta Dream on May 24th, in overtime, 85-79. Veteran forward Tina Charles dominated the dream all game and finished the afternoon with a game-high 29 points, along with 10 boards, six assists and seven steals. The Liberty struggled offensively, however, only shooting 36 percent from the field and only draining one 3-pointer in 40 minutes of game time.
In a rather bizarre game with a lot of highs and lows, the Lynx came out on top on May 27th against the Indiana Fever 74-71. Incredibly, Minnesota was up 29-6 after 10 minutes of action, but the Fever slowly crept back in the ball game and almost pulled off the dramatic upset, outscoring the Lynx 44-24 in the second half.
Last Matchup:
These two powerhouses last went at it on Sept. 6th, 2015 inside the Target Center and thanks to a solid third quarter, it was the Liberty who walked away with the road victory.
3 stars emerged from each team on that Sunday afternoon.
Charles, Epiphanny Prince and Tanisha Wright were all fantastic, combining for 52 points, 20 rebounds, 13 assists and four steals.
On the other side of the court, the Lynx were without guard Lindsay Whalen, but Maya Moore, Sylvia Fowles and Renee Montgomery all turned in solid games, combining for 56 points, 16 boards, nine assists, five steals and four blocks.
Key Matchup: Sylvia Fowles vs. Tina Charles
It will be an Olympian vs. Olympian battle in the paint on Tuesday night when these two forwards face up with one another in what will be an outstanding matchup to watch.
Fowles has played extremely efficiently in her first five games this season, averaging, 14.8 points on 57.1 percent shooting from the field and 9.8 rebounds per game.
Charles on the other hand hasn’t managed to get her shot down quite yet, but she is still filling the stat sheet like the All-WNBA first teamer that she is. In four games this season, the 2012 WNBA Most Valuable Player is averaging 23.5 points, 12 boards, four assists and 2.7 steals per game.
Projected Starters:
NY: G- Rodgers, G- Wright, G- Harding, F- Swords, C- Charles
MIN: G- Whalen, G- Augustus, F- Moore, F- Brunson, C- Fowles