It may have been just the ninth game of the regular season for the Minnesota Lynx and the Las Vegas Aces, but Thursday’s matchup between the two teams already had a decent amount on the line.
The Lynx came into the game at 6-2 overall, having won five of their last six games. The Aces, on the other hand, entered the contest also sitting at 6-2 on the year and as one of the hottest teams in the WNBA with five straight victories.
With both squads vying for sole possession of second place in the league standings, that made the first of two games between Minnesota and Las Vegas this year that much more important.
“We want to try and get ahead in a series with them that’s only two games. You want the first one between two teams, regardless of who you’re playing,” Lynx head coach and general manager Cheryl Reeve said before the game. “I know it’s a natural thing for people to standings watch and be excited, but we’re so far from the end (of the season). We’re literally just trying to get through these six games in 11 days feeling good about what we’re doing before getting a couple of days off.”
By the end of Thursday night’s game, Las Vegas was the team that came away with yet another win, topping Minnesota 87-77 and improving to 7-2 overall to remain in second place. Meanwhile, the Lynx dropped to 6-3 overall and into third place in the standings.
LYNX FALL TO THIRD, BUT COULD REMAIN ATOP THE STANDINGS
Among the many storylines that took place coming into Thursday’s matchup and throughout the game itself, the fact that both the Lynx and Aces were tied near the top of the standings put a little extra meaning behind it.
Not only were Minnesota and Las Vegas tied for second place behind only the Seattle Storm in first place at 8-1 overall, but both teams were looking to get an early advantage against the other in the two-game season series while continuing to battle for playoff position with 13 games remaining before the postseason begins.
While the Aces won the battle for sole possession of second place, the Lynx are still sitting in a decent spot in the standings now tied with the Chicago Sky and Los Angeles Sparks in a three-team tie for third place.
The good news for Minnesota after a tough schedule to open the season is that three of its next four games are against the New York Liberty, Dallas Wings and Atlanta Dream — the bottom three teams in the WNBA. That will give the Lynx the opportunity to continue to remain atop the league standings entering the midway point of the year.
FOWLES EXITS GAME EARLY WITH INJURY
One thing that has already hurt the Lynx early on this season has been injuries to a couple of different players during the first eight games of the 22-game year.
On Thursday, the injury bug bit Minnesota once again, this time involving its most important player.
About a minute and a half into the first quarter, Lynx center Sylvia Fowles exited the game after suffering what appeared to be a non-contact injury while defending in the post.
After being helped off the court, Minnesota announced Fowles would miss the rest of the game with a right calf injury, an injury that has already kept her out of games against New York and Los Angeles recently. An announcement on the status of Fowles is expected from the Lynx on Friday ahead of Saturday’s contest against the Liberty, but it’s safe to assume she might miss some time.
“It was the type of blow you think it would be. You’re losing one of the best players in the league and an MVP candidate,” Reeve said after Thursday’s game. “It was obviously not ideal.”
Fowles is a huge piece to this Lynx team and plays a large role on both ends of the floor, so Minnesota will hope she is able to bounce back sooner rather than later to help it continue to roll along in a busy regular season schedule.
“It’s a huge blow losing Syl. She’s such a huge part of our offense and our team,” Napheesa Collier said after the game. “It hurt losing her. It’s on us now, we have to play on without her and have to make the best of it.”
FIRST APPEARANCES FOR A PAIR OF GUARDS
Thursday’s game also featured the first appearances for two familiar faces to Lynx fans over the last few years.
For Minnesota, Odyssey Sims made her season debut in 2020 following the birth to her first child in April. Sims made the decision in July to rejoin the team in Florida for the season while working herself back into game shape this offseason.
Coming into the game, Reeve hinted at the fact we wouldn’t see a ton of Sims in her debut, adding she would play a few minutes at a time while trying to get her legs back under her this summer.
In just under 15 minutes of action off the bench, Sims finished the game with one point, one rebound, one assist and one steal.
“Just playing again was good for her,” Reeve said after the game. “(Her performance) was probably exactly what I expected. She played probably a little bit longer of a stretch than I thought she might be able to. I thought it was a decent start. I don’t know how she feels physically, but it’s just going to take a little bit to shake the rust off.”
On the other side of the court, the Lynx faced off against former Minnesota guard Danielle Robinson for the first time since she left the team in free agency this offseason to join the Aces.
Coming off the bench, Robinson tallied two points, two rebounds and two assists in about 16.5 minutes.
Now having lost two of its last three games, Minnesota will look to bounce back when it returns to action against the New York Liberty at 5 p.m. CT on Saturday, the second matchup between the Lynx and Liberty this season. The game will be aired nationally on CBS Sports Network and locally in Minnesota on Fox Sports North PLUS.
