The Minnesota Lynx are the best team in the WNBA so far this season and are steaming into the playoff's as the league's number one seed and in search of the fifth WNBA title in franchise history.
After the disappointment of a five-game loss to the New York Liberty last season - a bitter end that head coach Cheryl Reeve said was "stolen" from the Lynx after some questionable officiating, the Lynx are reloaded and dominating across the league.
And that was before adding a defensive stopper in DiJonai Carrington, acquired in a trade with Dallas.
Speaking with WCCO's Jason DeRusha at the Minnesota State Fair on Monday, Carrington said her first few games in Minnesota have felt great.
"Everyone has been so welcoming and it just felt like I've been here for years, so it's been great," Carrington says. "I'm pretty good at assimilating into different cultures, groups, whatever, and I already had super close friends on the team. So I felt like right at home, honestly."
Despite the absence of MVP favorite Napheesa Collier, out with a sprained ankle, the Lynx are 6-2 since acquiring Carrington on August 4.
On Sunday, Collier returned and the Lynx dominated Indiana in a 97-84 win to get to 30-7 on the season, a full six games better than the league's second place teams (Atlanta and Lax Vegas). With just seven regular season games left, home-court advantage through the playoffs is all but guaranteed.
Oh, and the Lynx are 18-1 when playing at Target Center this season.
"That's our leader and commander, so it's always great having her on the court," Natisha Hiedeman said about Collier's return.
Collier had 32 points and nine rebounds in her return from a seven-game absence Sunday night. Collier was the favorite to win WNBA MVP before she suffered an ankle injury in the third quarter of a 111-58 win over Las Vegas on August 2nd but the Lynx kept marching as she got a couple of weeks to heal up heading into the playoffs.
Of course great records in the regular season don't' mean much if you can't bring home a trophy at the end of a playoff run, something point guard Courtney Williams told DeRusha is the only thing that matters.
"I think we went through it, obviously experience is the best teacher, to make it to the finals Game 5 and lose the way we did, I think that just put a chip on all of our shoulders," Williams said on the WCCO State Fair porch. "We know what it takes to get there and obviously during the offseason we all got better. So we all took it very personal. Yeah, we gotta go get that ring this year, man."
For Carrington and the Lynx, they know the support of fans at Target Center can be a difference maker this year.
"I already knew it coming in, I've played here many times as an opponent, but to be on the other side of it, it was so heartwarming," Carrington told DeRusha. "Especially the first home game, and when I subbed in, it was definitely like an overwhelming feeling that you kind of have to put to the side because you're going in to play a game. But you know, when you can take a step back and really reflect on it, it meant a lot and it really showed me how dedicated this fan base really is to the team and vice versa. So it was special for sure."
The Lynx next play this Thursday night in Target Center, hosting Seattle. The 2025 WNBA playoffs begin on Sunday, September 14.