The Minnesota Lynx are coming off one of their most impressive wins of the season, knocking off two-time defending champion Las Vegas in the desert earlier this week.
Now they return home for a game with Los Angeles at the top of the Western Conference and with a ton of confidence. Head Coach and President of Basketball Operations for the Lynx, Cheryl Reeve, joined WCCO's Drivetime with DeRusha and talked about her club's hot start.
"Yeah, really incredible win," Reeve said about the win in Vegas. "It was our fourth game in seven days, that was the big thing. Kind of navigating, you know, we were out in Phoenix, come home, play a hard game against Seattle, go back out the next day to go out to Vegas and that was all in the Commissioner's Cup."
In-season tournaments are now the thing in professional basketball and the Minnesota Lynx have reached the Commissioner Cup Finals after going 4-1 as Reeve referenced. It's the first time they'll represent the Western Conference since the tournament began in 2021.
The teams will play for $3,000 a win for a non-profit of the team's choice. The Lynx play for Gender Justice dedicated to gender equity.
For Reeve, it feels like they've picked up the ability to win WNBA games much faster than anticipated.
"It's hard to describe," Reeve says. "I say sometimes you catch lightning in a bottle and this is what it feels like a little bit with our team and how fast we sort of got it. Things come naturally for them that sometimes take a lot of work for teams and so it's a collection of really selfless people at the core of who they are. "They really care about the other person first, not themselves.
Reeve says it helps that they're really talented.
"They are good basketball players," she said. "Obviously we're anchored by our MVP Napheesa Collier who, you know, just continues to get better and better right before our very eyes."
Collier and Reeve will both be representing the Lynx during the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.
PREVIEW
Los Angeles Sparks (4-8, 2-5 Western Conference) at Minnesota Lynx (9-3, 7-2 Western Conference)
Minneapolis; Friday, 6:30 p.m.
BOTTOM LINE: Minnesota Lynx will try to keep its three-game home win streak intact when the Lynx take on Los Angeles Sparks.
The Lynx’s record in Western Conference play is 7-2. Minnesota leads the WNBA with 25.0 assists per game led by Courtney Williams averaging 5.3.
The Sparks are 2-5 against Western Conference teams. Los Angeles is 0-5 in games decided by 10 or more points.
Minnesota scores 86.7 points per game, 2.7 more points than the 84.0 Los Angeles allows. Los Angeles has shot at a 41.9% clip from the field this season, 2.2 percentage points higher than the 39.7% shooting opponents of Minnesota have averaged.
The teams meet for the second time this season. The Lynx won 86-62 in the last matchup on June 6.
TOP PERFORMERS: Napheesa Collier is averaging 20.8 points, 10.9 rebounds, 3.8 assists, two steals and 1.5 blocks for the Lynx. Kayla McBride is averaging 18.6 points over the last 10 games.
Dearica Hamby is averaging 20 points, 11.4 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 1.6 steals for the Sparks. Rickea Jackson is averaging 8.9 points over the last 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Lynx: 7-3, averaging 85.5 points, 33.5 rebounds, 25.0 assists, 8.3 steals and 5.1 blocks per game while shooting 46.6% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 74.9 points per game.
Sparks: 4-6, averaging 77.3 points, 34.7 rebounds, 19.0 assists, 6.1 steals and 3.9 blocks per game while shooting 41.3% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 82.7 points.
INJURIES: Lynx: Diamond Miller: out (knee).
Sparks: Julie Allemand: out for season (ankle), Azura Stevens: out (arm).