Storm at Lynx, 7:00 p.m.
Target Center
Fox Sports GO, BOB 106.1

The Lynx are back at home and riding high.

Minnesota has won four in a row, including two on the road against the Mercury and Aces, but they’ll have to buckle down and perform at their best to beat a very good Seattle team on Tuesday night. The Storm are 10-4, just a half-game out of first place in the Western Conference. The Lynx are 7-6, three games out of first. A win for the Lynx against a conference rival like the Storm would go a long way towards helping them climb in the standings.

The Storm are led by forward/center Breanna Stewart. In her third year, the 6’4 big is averaging 21.9 points and 7.9 rebounds per game. A game after matching up with A’Ja Wilson, Rebekkah Brunson will be chasing around yet another young forward on the defensive end. She’s up to the challenge though—in her 15^th season, the crafty veteran has been using her smarts as well as her excellent conditioning to stay with everyone she’s defended this year.

With starting power forward Alysha Clark likely sidelined, Stewart will probably line up at the four spot (she usually plays the five), giving Sylvia Fowles the chance to compete against a familiar opponent in Natasha Howard. Howard, who played on the Lynx in 2016 and 2017, is in the midst of a career-best season, averaging 14.1 points and 6.8 rebounds per game. Fowles is having quite a season of her own though, so it should be a good frontcourt battle at every position.

As with all dangerous teams, the Storm’s talent is not in just one area. Seattle boasts an impressive backcourt of Jewell Loyd and WNBA legend Sue Bird. Loyd is second on the team in scoring with 18.0 points per game and Bird is dishing out 6.4 assists per game.

The Storm love shooting from beyond the arc. An astounding 29.3 percent of their points are scored from beyond the arc, and they attempt the most threes in the WNBA (23.9) while simultaneously shooting the league’s best percentage from range (36.2 percent). The Storm will shoot teams out of games, so limiting their attempts, or forcing them into bad three-point attempts will be crucial for the Lynx. The Storm also move the ball very well, collecting more assists per game than any other team, so Minnesota will need to have active hands in the passing lanes.

The Lynx defense has been stout in their last few games, but they’ll need to be outstanding versus the Storm. Because of Seattle’s ability to shoot from range, holding the Storm to a shooting percentage in the mid-40s won’t be enough—the Lynx need to limit Seattle’s attempts. Minnesota must win the rebounding and turnover battle and prevent any second-chance points if they want to continue their win streak.

This should be a fun one, and Target Center will certainly be ready to welcome their team home. Here’s to hoping the Lynx feed off that energy and get a victory.

Starting Lineups:

Lynx: PG—Whalen, SG—Augustus, SF—Moore, PF—Brunson, C—Fowles

Storm: PG—Bird, SG—Loyd, SF—Mosqueda-Lewis, PF—Stewart, C—Howard

Injuries:

Lynx: No injuries to report.

Storm: Alysha Clark (ankle) is questionable.