Fever-Lynx Preview
Having hit an early season stride, the Minnesota Lynx look to make it four wins in a row Friday when they face the Indiana Fever. Minnesota (4-1) is off to its best start since winning the first nine games of the 2017 season, which culminated in its most recent WNBA title. The Lynx took care of business during a soft patch of schedule, preventing Connecticut and New York from recording a first victory at their expense. They cruised to a 92-66 victory over the Liberty on Wednesday night as Bridget Carleton scored a career-high 25 points while Lexie Brown added 15 to go with a career-best seven steals. Minnesota forced 24 turnovers it converted into 30 points and seized control of the game with a 20-1 run in the third quarter. Carleton, who made her first WNBA start as Sylvia Fowles was rested due to a calf injury, made 11 of 16 shots and pulled down seven rebounds. "I didn't have time to think about it," Carleton told the Star-Tribune. "But the confidence this team has given me, they're all so supportive. I took the shots the coach wanted me to take. I was able to hit a couple of those, got rolling a little bit there." Brown's seven steals tied a franchise record as she also had five boards and four assists after a two-game absence while navigating the league's concussion protocol. Indiana (2-3) has alternated losses and wins through its first five games, putting it on track to get back to .500 again after an 86-75 defeat to Los Angeles on Wednesday. Kelsey Mitchell scored 24 points and Candice Dupree added 16, but the Fever played uphill for most of the contest. Coach Marianne Stanley was pleased with her team's fight throughout the fourth contest, getting as close as seven and forcing Los Angeles counterpart Derek Fisher to bring in his starters to see out the game. "The games that we've lost, I think it's been a lot of one-on-one basketball," Dupree noted to the IndyStar. "But when we play together we share the ball, we move the ball, we look really good as a team. We've been saying that from day one. That was definitely something that was emphasized today in the locker room after the game. "We can't play hero ball. And like I said, we look really good when we're playing as a unit, and until we can do that on a consistent basis, it's probably going to be a lot of ups and downs." Minnesota won two of the three contests last year, with Napheesa Collier totaling 15 points and 10 rebounds in an 81-73 victory in the most recent matchup. |