The league-leading Minnesota Lynx will chase their third win of the season against the Dallas Wings when the teams meet Sunday afternoon in Arlington, Texas.
The Lynx defeated the Wings 90-86 on the road May 14 before rolling to a 100-76 victory at Minneapolis on June 9. Minnesota has captured six straight contests against the Wings since late in the 2024 campaign.
Minnesota (14-4) sits atop the WNBA standings after a 78-76 win at Washington on Wednesday that avenged a home setback to the Mystics three days earlier. The Lynx have won four of their last five games.
Natasha Howard paced the Lynx with 21 points and a season-high 15 rebounds on Wednesday for her fourth double-double of the year. Rookie Olivia Miles also scored 21 points and Kayla McBride added 19 points, with 15 of those coming on five 3-pointers.
Miles scored 10 of her points in the fourth quarter while rallying Minnesota from a 12-point deficit with eight minutes to play. Miles’ step-back 3-pointer with 1:07 left provided the winning points for the Lynx, who are 8-1 on the road this year.
Miles has averaged 18.6 points, 4.9 rebounds and 5.6 assists while shooting 52.2% from the floor in her first 18 games in the league.
“It’s unbelievable,” Howard said of Miles. “She sees things before they happen. She’s got in her head what she wants to do before the play even starts. I’ve got to make sure my hands are ready at all times. I never know when she’s going to pass it.”
Minnesota coach and president of basketball operations Cheryl Reeve will be back with the team in time for Sunday’s game after her induction into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame in Knoxville, Tenn., on Saturday.
Reeve is just the second WNBA coach — along with former Houston Comets coach Van Chancellor — to be inducted into the Hall of Fame.
The Wings, who will be playing their lone home game in a seven-game stretch, are returning from a 99-84 setback at Las Vegas on Thursday. Dallas (11-7) was led by Paige Bueckers’ 25 points plus 22 points and 14 rebounds from Jessica Shepard as its two-game winning streak was snapped.
“You’ve got to get ready for the next one, especially Minnesota,” Dallas coach Jose Fernandez said. “The day before the game — especially with it being an afternoon game — we’ll watch film and do as much as we can, load-wise, to get ready.”
Dallas star Arike Ogunbowale finished with just four points on 1-of-10 shooting against the Aces, while the Wings made only two of their 21 attempts from 3-point range.
“We got great shots. We got shots in transition and within the flow of the offense,” Bueckers said. “Some nights are like that where you can’t rely on your 3-point shooting, so we have to rely on our defense more.”
After Sunday’s game, the Wings play their next four on the road.
–Field Level Media
