Alexander Shun
Web Editor Associate | @alexpshun
Minnesota Lynx (21-11) vs. Seattle Storm (9-22) | 7:00 P.M. CT
WHERE TO WATCH: No TV
WHERE TO LISTEN: 106.1 BOB FM
With just two games left in the WNBA season, the playoff picture is beginning to take shape, with just a few key positions left to be decided, of which includes the winner of the Western Conference. The Minnesota Lynx are hoping to lock themselves in that slot with a win tonight over the Seattle Storm.
Despite suffering a loss to the New York Liberty on Friday night, now winners of the Eastern Conference and holders of the best record in the WNBA, the Lynx played them very tough and put themselves in a position to come away with a victory. Unfortunately, they fell just a few plays short, committing turnovers on four of their last five possessions while trailing by only two points.
Minnesota will aim to bounce back tonight against a familiar opponent, against which they have had great success.
The Lynx have won all three contests against the Storm this season and by an average of 17.3 points, and it gets better. The Lynx have won the last five meetings overall against Seattle, but wait, it gets even better. The game tonight will take place at Target Center where the Lynx have won the last 11 meetings between these two teams. That is quite a lot of momentum swinging Minnesota’s way entering tonight’s game; however, the Storm will not go down without a fight.
Despite having lost their last two games handily and being eliminated from playoff contention, Seattle is a veteran-laden squad that plays with a lot of pride and is led by forward Crystal Langhorne and guard Sue Bird.
Langhorne, despite leading the team averaging 11.4 points per game this season, has averaged just 7.3 points in the three games against Minnesota this season. Seattle will lean on Langhorne and her scoring ability tonight if they hope to have a different outcome than previous games against the Lynx.
Bird, however, has been nothing but consistent for Seattle all season long. Siting third on the team averaging 10.4 points and leading the team averaging 5.3 assists, Bird has played well so far this season against Minnesota, averaging 12.6 points and 5.6 assists in the three contests thus far.
The Lynx will counter Seattle’s strong backcourt with a heavy dose of their stacked frontcourt in center Sylvia Fowles and forward Rebekkah Brunson.
Fowles has notched a double-double in five of her last six games and fell just a rebound shy of getting her sixth-straight double-double on Sunday night, while Brunson appears to have finally gotten over a cold that had been slowing her down. In her last two games, Brunson has averaged 10 points, 10 rebounds and two assists while setting the tone with her lock-down defensive play. With both players playing so well lately, it is safe to assume that the Lynx will look to get these two involved early and often.
There may be a heavy disparity record-wise, but if the Lynx want to win tonight and clinch the Western Conference, they will need to take Seattle very seriously, something that head coach Cheryl Reeve will ensure they do.
LAST MEETING
The Lynx and Storm last met on July 3, and that meeting was all about the third quarter.
The game was close at halftime with the Lynx leading just 34-33; however, in the third quarter, the Lynx turned it up on both ends of the floor and pulled away, outscoring the Storm 25-10 in the quarter and setting the tone for the rest of the game.
Lynx forward Maya Moore scored a game-high 23 points while tallying 11 rebounds and two assists. Guard Lindsay Whalen kicked in 16 points, four rebounds and four assists to aid in the Lynx win while guard Seimone Augustus added 15 points, three rebounds and four assists of her own.
Guard Sue Bird and forward Crystal Langhorne led Seattle scoring 10 points each while Langhorne added eight rebounds and three assists and Bird added six assists in the loss.
KEY MATCH-UP: RENEE MONTGOMERY VS. JEWELL LOYD
After coming to Minnesota in exchange for guard Monica Wright in a July trade with Seattle, guard Renee Montgomery has proven to be a valuable addition to the Lynx, especially in the wake of injuries to guards Lindsay Whalen and Seimone Augustus. Tonight, Montgomery will get her first chance to play against her former team since being traded.
With the injury to Whalen, Montgomery has taken over the starting point guard position in Minnesota’s past two games, and she has not disappointed. While playing great full-court defense and providing excellent pressure on opposing team’s guards, Montgomery has averaged 13.5 points and seven assists in her last two starts and has greatly developed since being thrust into the starting role.
For Seattle, Jewell Loyd, the first overall pick in the 2015 WNBA Draft, has taken her time at both the point and shooting guard positions and, despite a shaky start to the year, Loyd has really come into her own. Sitting second on the team averaging 10.7 points per game, Loyd has taken on both a scoring and leadership role in Seattle, despite being a rookie. In Seattle’s last game, Loyd scored 21 points to go with seven rebounds, two assists and a blocked shot. She also had six turnovers though, showing that although she has grown tremendously this season, Loyd still has quite a bit of learning to do.
For Montgomery, tonight’s game is a chance to show Seattle just how big of a mistake they made trading her away, while Loyd will use tonight’s game as opportunity to learn more and play well against one of the best teams in the league. Both players will have their opportunities to shine tonight and it will be exciting to see which guard shines brighter.
PROJECTED STARTERS
Lynx: PG – Montgomery, SG – Cruz, SF – Moore, PF – Brunson, C – Fowles
Storm: PG – Loyd, SG – Goodrich, SF – Clark, PF – Langhorne, C – Gatling