The Minnesota Lynx will go for back-to-back wins on their home court when they tip off against the Dallas Wings on Sunday evening in Minneapolis.
The Lynx are coming off a dominant 95-71 win over the Phoenix Mercury on Friday night. It marked the fifth victory in seven games this season for Minnesota, which is off to a hot start as it sits in first place in the Western Conference.
Meanwhile, Dallas has split its first six games and is looking to bounce back from a hard-fought 74-72 loss on the road against the host Connecticut Sun on Friday.
Minnesota rookie Alissa Pili will look to stay hot as the Lynx turn their focus to Dallas. Pili, who was the Lynx’s first-round pick (No. 8 overall) out of Utah, set a season high with 20 points and made 7 of 9 shots on Friday against Phoenix.
Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve praised Pili for staying ready on the bench despite receiving limited playing time before Friday.
“It can be uncharted waters for first-round picks,” Reeve said. “They’re used to being the best player on their team, playing all the time. I told her, ‘You never know when your number will be called.’
“I felt there was an opportunity for Pili (against Phoenix). She just made the most of it.”
Pili and her teammates must try to find a way to slow down Arike Ogunbowale, who leads the Wings with 27.5 points per game. The former Notre Dame standout is coming off another solid contribution in which she scored 21 points, grabbed four rebounds and dished seven assists against Connecticut.
Another player who has helped Dallas this season is Maddy Siegrist, who is averaging 13.7 points in six games (four starts). She has scored at least 15 points in each of her last three games, including a 17-point performance on 8-for-8 shooting against Connecticut.
Wings coach Latricia Trammell said Siegrist worked hard for her success this season. Siegrist averaged 3.7 points during sparse playing time as a rookie last year.
“A lot of people could have just taken the backseat, but she didn’t,” Trammell said. “She kept learning and enhancing the things we’ve talked about, so I feel extremely close to Maddy.”
Napheesa Collier is Minnesota’s top scorer with 21.0 points to go along with a team-high 10.9 rebounds per game. Kayla McBride is next on the team with 14.7 points per game.
The Lynx are 3-1 at home this season. Dallas is 2-2 on the road.
