Riding high off a win over one East Coast powerhouse, the Minnesota Lynx will try to replicate that performance when they visit the Connecticut Sun on Sunday afternoon in Uncasville, Conn.
The Lynx (12-13) picked up their third win in four games Friday night by staving off the New York Liberty 88-83 on the road. Minnesota led after each of the first three quarters, but Sabrina Ionescu and company brought the Liberty back within a point at 77-76.
That’s when Lynx rookie Diamond Miller knocked down a long 3-pointer and Kayla McBride added a basket to put the game comfortably out of reach.
With All-Star and leading scorer Napheesa Collier sidelined by an ankle injury, the veteran McBride stepped up with a team-high 26 points on 11-of-14 shooting. Coach Cheryl Reeve enjoyed McBride’s chemistry with Miller, the second overall draft pick who finished with 22 points, and second-round pick Dorka Juhasz, who added 13 points and 10 rebounds for her third career double-double.
“McBride’s influence as a veteran — it’s been nice to see her embrace the young players,” Reeve told reporters. “Sometimes the old dogs don’t like the puppies. They find them annoying. K-Mac thinks they’re cute, so she plays with them, she’s patient with them and she gets a kick out of them, with some of the stuff that they do.”
The result knocked the Liberty into a second-place tie with the Sun (18-6), who have been off since Tuesday’s win over the Dallas Wings, also by an 88-83 score.
In that game, DeWanna Bonner scored 32 points, including 11-for-11 shooting at the foul line, and Tiffany Hayes added 28, with 10-for-10 shooting at the stripe. The Sun trailed by as many as nine and were behind 75-69 early in the fourth quarter before Bonner and Hayes led the comeback.
“We’re not at our peak. I don’t think we’re at our best offensively yet,” Sun coach Stephanie White said postgame. “Our defense always gives us opportunities to be in ballgames and to win ballgames, and I think we still have some work to do on the offensive end.”
The Sun do have triple-double threat Alyssa Thomas at her peak, as the All-Star averages 14.5 points, 9.6 rebounds and 8.0 assists per game.
In addition to missing Collier and Rachel Banham (thumb), the Lynx saw Emily Engstler leave the Liberty game with a shoulder injury, leaving her status for Sunday in question.
–Field Level Media
