Post a Free Blog

Submit A Press Release

Generic selectors
Exact matches only
Search in title
Search in content
Post Type Selectors
Filter by Categories
Action
Animation
ATP Tour (ATP)
Auto Racing
Baseball
Basketball
Boxing
Breaking News
Business
Business
Business Newsletter
Call of Duty (CALLOFDUTY)
Canadian Football League (CFL)
Car
Celebrity
Champions Tour (CHAMP)
Comedy
CONCACAF
Counter Strike Global Offensive (CSGO)
Crime
Dark Comedy
Defense of the Ancients (DOTA)
Documentary and Foreign
Drama
eSports
European Tour (EPGA)
Fashion
FIFA
FIFA Women’s World Cup (WWC)
FIFA World Cup (FIFA)
Fighting
Football
Formula 1 (F1)
Fortnite
Golf
Health
Hockey
Horror
IndyCar Series (INDY)
International Friendly (FRIENDLY)
Kids & Family
League of Legends (LOL)
LPGA
Madden
Major League Baseball (MLB)
Mixed Martial Arts (MMA)
MLS
Movie and Music
Movie Trailers
Music
Mystery
NASCAR Cup Series (NAS)
National Basketball Association (NBA)
National Football League (NFL)
National Hockey League (NHL)
National Women's Soccer (NWSL)
NBA Development League (NBAGL)
NBA2K
NCAA Baseball (NCAABBL)
NCAA Basketball (NCAAB)
NCAA Football (NCAAF)
NCAA Hockey (NCAAH)
Olympic Mens (OLYHKYM)
Other
Other Sports
Overwatch
PGA
Politics
Premier League (PREM)
Romance
Sci-Fi
Science
Soccer
Sports
Sports
Technology
Tennis
Thriller
Truck Series (TRUCK)
True Crime
Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC)
Uncategorized
US
Valorant
Western
Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA)
Women’s NCAA Basketball (WNCAAB)
World
World Cup Qualifier (WORLDCUP)
WTA Tour (WTA)
Xfinity (XFT)
XFL
0
-- Advertisement --spot_img
HomeSportsBasketballLynx, Sun take season-long duel into semifinal series

Lynx, Sun take season-long duel into semifinal series

Add to Favorite
Added to Favorite


After the Minnesota Lynx held off the Connecticut Sun to earn the No. 2 seed in the playoffs, they will take their earned home-court advantage into a matchup of the teams in a best-of-five WNBA semifinal series.

Minnesota will play host to Game 1 on Sunday at Minneapolis after it advanced in the opening round with a two-game sweep of the Phoenix Mercury. Third-seeded Connecticut reached the semifinals after sweeping the Indiana Fever.

The Lynx were powered in their opening playoff series by the continues superb play of Napheesa Collier, who scored 80 combined points in the pair of wins over the Mercury on 25-of-39 shooting (64.1 percent) from the floor.

Collier, a member of the gold medal-winning U.S. Olympic team this past summer and recently voted as the AP Defensive Player of the Year, has delivered some of her best basketball in a crucial part of the season.

The Sun made it out of the first round after using a total team effort and smothering defense. Led by DeWanna Bonner – who had 22 points in Game 1 and 15 points in Game 2 – the Sun stifled WNBA Rookie of the Year Caitlin Clark, holding her to a combined 14-of-40 shooting (35 percent).

Alyssa Thomas – who was on the Olympic team with Collier – also was a big reason why the Sun won their opening series, dropping a 13-assist triple-double in Game 1, then piling up 19 points with 13 assists in Game 2.

“A.T. is a monster,” Lynx forward Bridget Carleton said. “They pressure the ball. They make things hard on you offensively, just trying to take care of the ball. They feed off that. They’re a physical defensive team. They’re going to bring it.”

DiJonai Carrington also has provided a big boost for the Sun and was voted the most improved player in the WNBA this season. The Baylor product averaged career-bests in points (12.7), rebounds (5.0), assists (1.6) and steals (1.6) while starting in the 39 games she played.

Carrington’s tenacity on defense has been key too, posting a top-40 defensive rating of 94.7 this season after a top-10 mark of 92.6 last season.

“She has elevated her game in every way,” Sun coach Stephanie White said of Carrington. “She’s been consistent, she’s been productive. She’s been instrumental in every one of our wins. Whether she’s scoring the basketball or whether she’s defending the best perimeter player, her ability to make plays for us has been huge.”

The Lynx went 1-2 against the Sun in the regular season, with those competitive games decided by an average of just 2.7 points. In a July 4 home loss to Connecticut, Collier played only 24 minutes. In their most recent meeting, a 78-76 win for the Lynx on Sept. 17 in Connecticut, Collier had 25 points and the Lynx forced the Sun into 16 turnovers.

This is the second consecutive season the Lynx and Sun have met in the postseason, after Connecticut beat Minnesota 2-1 in the first round of the playoffs last year.

–Field Level Media

Subscribe to get Latest News Updates

Latest News

You may like more
more

NCAAF News: Texas A&M flips 5-star OT Lamont Rogers

Five-star offensive tackle Lamont Rogers committed to Texas A&M...

NCAAF News: FAU names Zach Kittley, 33, as head coach

Florida Atlantic made Zach Kittley the youngest head coach...

No. 16 Memphis, Louisiana Tech both bid to bounce back from first loss

Louisiana Tech and host Memphis will look to overcome...

No. 13 Florida seeks to stay undefeated in clash vs. Virginia

It's called the SEC/ACC Challenge, but will the title...