Whenever the Minnesota Lynx and the Los Angeles Sparks face off, both teams come into the game with a little bit to prove while taking part in one of the best rivalries in WNBA history.
On Sunday afternoon in Bradenton, Fla., the first meeting of the year had even more meaning behind it when the Lynx and Sparks battled in one of two games between the teams during the 2020 season.
Minnesota came into the game as one of the hottest teams in the WNBA, sitting at 5-1 overall while winning four straight contests through six games. On the other side of the court, former Lynx great Seimone Augustus and the Sparks looked to end that streak and get back to their winning ways after starting the year 3-3.
Not only was the storyline of Augustus facing her former team for the first time interesting enough, but the game was also a test for the Lynx early on in the season.
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By the end of the game, Augustus and Los Angeles were able to take down Minnesota and break its winning streak, with the Sparks running away late to win 97-81.
“LA is a good team. They are one of the teams here that a lot of people think has a chance to win it all,” Lynx head coach and general manager Cheryl Reeve said after Sunday’s loss. “We were hoping to be better defensively and just didn’t get it done.”
EARLY SEASON TEST AGAINST LA
Coming into the season, many around the league viewed Los Angeles as a team that could make deep playoff run and have a shot at winning the WNBA title. Although Minnesota came into Sunday winning five of its first six games this season, the Lynx would be presented with a tough task against a deep and veteran-heavy Sparks roster.
Especially without Sylvia Fowles in the gam, Minnesota ran out of gas late in the game and Los Angeles’ depth was too much for the Lynx to deal with to full off a comeback.
“We weren’t wanting it hard enough and we weren’t flying around like coach wanted us to,” said Crystal Dangerfield, who led the Lynx in scoring with a career-high 29 points. “Next time we play, (defense) will have to be a point of emphasis.”
Led by Augustus, Candace Parker, Riquna Williams and others, the Sparks depth was on display throughout the entire game, outscoring Minnesota 50-5 in bench scoring.
The Lynx may be sitting near the top of the WNBA standings early on in the 22-game regular season, but Sunday’s game was a good measurement to exactly where they are and what they still need to improve upon at this point in the year.
“We just didn’t execute a lot of what we wanted to do,” Reeve said. “You have to give LA credit.”
AUGUSTUS HAS REVENGE GAME AGAINST MINNESOTA
In her first game against her former team, Augustus had a nice showing off the bench for the Sparks to lead them past the Lynx.
Augustus turned back the clock a bit and was rolling early on against Minnesota, finishing with 13 points and three rebounds in just under 20 minutes of action. She shot 5-of-9 from the field and went 2-for-4 from three.
“It felt good,” Augustus said after the game about facing her former team. “It was emotional with this whole situation, but I’m just happy we were able to come away with this one.”
It was certainly odd to see Augustus take the court wearing team colors other than the Lynx blue, grey and white on Sunday afternoon. She looks healthy right now and is a nice addition to an already deep Sparks team coming off the bench.
LYNX GET LATE BLOW WITH FOWLES OUT
Right before the start of the game on Sunday, Minnesota found out it would once again be without its star center in Fowles for the second time this season.
Fowles, who missed her first game of the year last Wednesday against the New York Liberty, was held out of the game with a sore calf that she has been dealing with for about a week.
“Obviously it’s tough not having Syl out there. She seems to make things easier for everyone on our team when she’s playing,” Bridget Carleton said postgame after starting for the second time this year. “We have to find ways to win without her. … Everyone needs to fill that void when Syl’s not playing.”
The absence of Fowles, much like what was the case against the Liberty, was felt during the game against Los Angeles on Sunday, with the Sparks having a nice offensive game against Minnesota’s lack of defense.
Los Angeles finished shooting 38-of-58 (65.5 percent) from the field and went 13-for-22 (59.1 percent) from three. Minnesota, on the other hand, shot 26-of-64 (40.6 percent) from the field and finished 10-for-30 (33.3 percent) from deep.
“We didn’t get done what we wanted to get done,” Reeve said. “We have to move on and figure out how we are going to beat Washington.”
The issues that arose on both sides of the ball in Sunday’s loss stretch beyond just Fowles and her absence, which is something the Lynx will work on trying to improve on before Tuesday’s game against the Washington Mystics at 8 p.m. CT.
