Alexander Shun

Web Editor Associate | Twitter 

Minnesota Lynx (5-1) vs. Tulsa Shock (5-1) | 6:00pm CST

Where to Watch: NBATV

Where to Listen: 106.1 BOB FM

Sunday night will be an early-season battle for first place in the Western Conference between the Minnesota Lynx and the Tulsa Shock.

The Shock will be looking to avenge their lone loss of the season after losing their season opener to the Lynx 83-75 at Target Center. Since then, the Shock have been unstoppable.

In their last game, the Shock beat a very good Mystics team, in Washington, 86-82 for their fifth straight win.

Shock forward Plenette Pierson scored a game-high 24 points to go with her six rebounds and two assists. Shock guard Riquna Williams provided a huge spark off the bench scoring 22 points and dishing out 4 assists. Shock guard Skylar Diggins also added 14 points, three rebounds and five assists.

The Lynx will look to neutralize those high scorers with great team defense, especially in the paint; something the have been solid at thus far this season.

In their last game against the Stars, Lynx forward Rebekkah Brunson shut down the paint, grabbing nine rebounds and blocking five shots while adding 12 points on the offensive side as well. She received a lot of help from center Asjha Jones as well. Jones scored 12 points while grabbing five rebounds and blocking three shots of her own. Guard Seimone Augustus led the Lynx though, scoring 18 points while adding two rebounds and four assists. If the Lynx really want to beat the Shock though, they’ll have to force the Shock to shoot three-pointers.

After holding the Stars to just 3-of-15 shooting from beyond the arc, the Lynx are now holding opponents to a mere 28.4 percent shooting from beyond the arc.

The Lynx will need to continue that trend should they hope to beat the Shock, especially with Tulsa’s ability to score in multiple ways; something the Lynx are rather familiar with themselces.

The Shock are averaging 81.8 points per game, one of the best in league; however, the Lynx average 77 points per game themselves, so this game will be a shootout in the purest sense of the word.

The Lynx have won 20 of the last 21 meetings against the Shock.

LAST MEETING

These two teams last met a little over two weeks ago back at Target Center to kick off the 2015 WNBA season for both teams. It was a very back-and-forth game but the Lynx emerged victorious, winning 83-75.

Lynx guard Lindsay Whalen led the way, scoring a game-high 26 points, including 18 in the second half. The Lynx trailed at one point in the game by 16 points, but kept their composure and fought their way back, eventually emerging victorious.

Lynx forward Maya Moore scored 23 points while forward Rebekkah Brunson added 14 points and a monstrous 18 rebounds in the victory.

Plenette Pierson led the Shock scoring  18 points and grabbing six rebounds, while guard Odyssey Sims managed a near-triple-double, scoring 17 points while adding seven rebounds and seven assists in the loss.

KEY MATCHUP: REBEKKAH BRUNSON VS. PLENETTE PIERSON

Lynx forward Rebekkah Brunson has been fantastic so far this season. After struggling with injuries last year, then returning when not exactly 100 percent healthy, Brunson had a tough year. This year, Brunson is proving to everyone that she is healthy once again. She is currently averaging 10.8 points and just over nine rebounds a game and is a major reason why the Lynx managed to beat the Shock earlier this season.

Meanwhile, Shock forward Plenette Pierson has been proving her worth this season as well.  Pierson sits second on the team in both scoring (16.3 points per game) and rebounds (5.5 rebounds per game). Pierson has been a struggle for opposing teams to stop and has really dominated both inside and outside the paint. Brunson is definitely going to have her hands full tonight.

These two will be battling in the paint all night for easy buckets, rebounds and to clear driving lanes. Whichever of these two great forwards can grab that extra rebound or snag the put-back bucket could very easily be the person leading their team to victory, a 6-1 record and a lone spot in first place in the Western Conference.

PROJECTED STARTERS

Lynx: PG – Whalen, SG – Augustus, SF – Moore, PF – Brunson, C – Dantas

Shock: PG – Diggins, SG – Kiesel, SF – Pierson, PF – Christmas, C – Paris