Griner’s Massive Double Double Propels Connecticut To Victory Over The Lynx (90-89)
FeaturedThe Minnesota Lynx came into this game tonight against the Connecticut Sun after falling to the New York liberty this past weekend. The star rookie Olivia Miles ended up, leaving that game due to cramping and was questionable for tonight’s game against Connecticut. Even though Olivia Miles ended up not playing tonight the Minnesota Lynx did get some help back with Dorka Juhasz playing in the first game this season. The Connecticut Sun were without Morrow who’s been a complete beast inside the paint from a scoring and rebounding perspective. The Connecticut Sun are coming into Minnesota with only four wins on the season and are looking for their fifth tonight.
The Connecticut Sun set the tone in this game from the beginning all the way to the end when it came to scoring in the paint. Britteny Griner was on a mission tonight and she was able to put the Sun on her back. Connecticut had 42 points in the paint tonight against Minnesota, which was extremely tough for them to do with the night that Griner had going. Minnesota had to double and triple team her, but she still was finding and making the right play time after the time it seemed like. Griner was in control of everything that happened in the paint tonight on both ends of the floor. She made it tough on the Minnesota Lynx players that were trying to score in the paint with blocks or deflections. Griner finish the game with 29 points, 10 rebounds, and 3 assist.
It seemed like she had everything working for her in her bag tonight from the fade away all the way to the easy hook shot at the rim Minnesota had no answer. The Lynx tried throwing multiple bodies at her to try to stop her, but it didn’t work completely as some of our teammates hit some tough shots down the stretch for her in those double teams. Burke hit some timely shots for Connecticut throughout the night. Whenever Minnesota felt like they were getting close Burke hit a three-pointer or made a winning play. In the WNBA today, it’s rare to see a team that plays in the paint as much as Connecticut and plays with two Bigs but they make it possible. The Connecticut Sun shot 50% from the field tonight against Minnesota, and it could’ve been worse for the Lynx if the sun were able to hit their free throws as they shot 59%.
The Minnesota Lynx will take this loss with a grain of salt as they know Olivia Miles wasn’t on the court tonight. We finally saw how Minnesota performs without their true point guard, but it also forced others to step up tonight in a huge way. Courtney Williams was able to get back to having the ball in her hands as she finished with 23 points, 6 assists, and 9 rebounds. Courtney Williams was in her zone at night as she kept hitting shot after the shot and making one in plays throughout the whole night. The game was very competitive and Courtney Williams was even seen trash talking, Brittney Griner in the second half as things got tighter.
The counterpart to Courtney Williams tonight was Kayla McBride as she shot lights out and finished the game with 28 points. Kayla McBride is one of the best shooters in the world and she was able to get her shot going throughout the night with ease. The Connecticut Sun had no answer for McBride tonight, but the Lynx should feel good, knowing that they are down a couple of players that impact their team in a monstrous way. When Kayla McBride has her shot going like this the Lynx look unstoppable, and they will be a scary team to play against when they get all of their players back completely healthy.
The Minnesota Lynx play the Connecticut Sun again on Wednesday, but this time it’ll be in Connecticut as they try to revenge the loss that they got tonight against Brittney Griner and Company tonight in Target Center. The team will be trying to win the game so that Coach Reeve can break the record for most wins.
