Alexander Shun

Web Editor Associate | @alexpshun

Minnesota Lynx (14-4) vs Tulsa Shock (10-9) | 7:00 P.M. CT

WHERE TO WATCH: No TV

WHERE TO LISTEN: 106.1 BOB FM

The calendar has turned to August and teams are now looking down the home-stretch of the WNBA season. The jockeying of conference positions becomes amplified now and every inter-conference game holds the utmost importance. That is why the game tonight will be such a good game.

The Minnesota Lynx are coming off a huge home win last night over the Atlanta Dream and are set to play the Tulsa Shock tonight…in Tulsa…in the BOK center which houses one of the loudest home crowds in the league. It’s going to be tough, but Minnesota has a few things working in their favor.

After defeating the Dream last night, the Lynx would seemingly be tired because of the back-to-back and long trip to Tulsa, but Lynx Head Coach Cheryl Reeve planned ahead and strategically got her players through last night’s game.

The Lynx beat the Dream easily last night and, because of the large Minnesota lead, that allowed Reeve to rest her players a bit. Forward Tricia Liston was the only player for Minnesota that played over 30 minutes last night and the rest of the team played 20-24 minutes.

The Shock enter tonight’s game on a six-game losing streak and having lost eight of their last 10 games overall. The Shock just haven’t recovered since losing All-Star guard Skylar Diggins and have been free-falling ever since. Luckily for Tulsa though, they’re still only in third place in the Western Conference, four and-a-half games behind the Lynx.

While both teams have been hit with various injuries throughout the year, the Lynx have been able to overcome such things while the Shock have seemingly fallen apart. Regardless though, Tulsa is still a very good and talented team that can beat any team on any given night. If the Lynx want to close out their season series against the Shock with a victory then they will need to play their best and dominate the paint like they have in their previous two games.

LAST MEETING

We are only two games in to the second half of the WNBA season and the Minnesota Lynx and Tulsa Shock are about to meet for the fourth time this season; the Lynx have won two of the three meetings this season.

The last time these two teams met was on July 19 down in Tulsa. The Lynx were playing their first game without injured All-Star guard Seimone Augustus and the Shock were playing yet another game without injured All-Star guard Skylar Diggins (although to be fair, they’ve been playing without Diggins for a while now seeing as how she’s out for the season with a torn right ACL). Both teams faced adversity, but neither backed-down.

Tulsa opened the game jumping out to a huge 15-4 lead and the Lynx looked like they were going to struggle; not quite how it went. After the Lynx battled back to make it just a seven point game at the half…let’s just say the second half was “Maya Time.”

Lynx forward Maya Moore exploded in the second half, scoring 30 of her game-high 32 points which included going 4-of-6 (66 percent) from beyond the arc. Moore also added 10 rebounds, five assists and two steals because…well, because she can.

Moore’s 30-point second half was a franchise record for points in a half, adding to her already dazzling list of franchise records.

Lynx forward Rebekkah Brunson kicked in a double-double of her own, adding 12 points and 13 rebounds to help give Minnesota the victory.

Guard Riquna Williams led the Shock, scoring 19 points to go with her five rebounds and four assists, while forward Plenette Pierson added 15 points and five rebounds in the loss.

KEY MATCHUP: LYNX SHOOTING GUARDS VS. RIQUNA WILLIAMS

This matchup is going to be a little vague. Why? Because there is no certainty as to who will start at shooting guard for the Lynx. Will it be Anna Cruz? Will it be Renee Montgomery? There is no right answer. Cruz is a game-time decision once again, but could very well get the start should her ankle be healthy enough.

Montgomery started last night against the Dream and, despite the low point total, played very well and was quite efficient. Montgomery finished with six points, nine assists and two steals.

Whoever gets the start will be tasked with stopping Shock guard Riquna Williams; not an easy task for the Lynx thus far this season. In the previous three games against Minnesota, Williams is averaging 15 points, 3.6 rebounds and 3.3 assists. In the Shock’s lone victory over the Lynx this season, Williams scored 17 points and added five assists and three steals. If Williams gets going again, she will be very difficult to stop and could easily, with some help from guard Odyssey Sims and forward Plenette Pierson of course, lead Tulsa to an upset of the Lynx and keep their playoff aspirations alive.

PROJECTED STARTERS

Lynx: PG – Whalen, SG – Cruz, SF – Moore, PF – Brunson, C – Fowles

Shock: PG – Sims, SG – Williams, SF – Christmas, PF – Pierson, C – Paris