The Lynx are in jeopardy of losing three consecutive games for the first time since 2014 when the New York Liberty, the Eastern Conference's first-place team, visits Target Center on Wednesday night.
The first losing streak of the season came in a pair of lopsided defeats by margins of 18 and 24 points.
A week ago, those results would have seemed far-fetched when the Lynx set a WNBA record with 13 victories in a row to start the season with the 13th win coming against then 11-0 Los Angeles in one of the most highly touted games in league history.
Coach Cheryl Reeve isn't overly concerned, though, about the recent setbacks. She felt like Tuesday's practice helped level out her team's emotions after a trying week.
"I told our group, 'If I was 29 years old, I would feel really different than what I feel right now,' which is when you're a little bit older you have a little better perspective about things," Reeve said. "We played at a very high level for a really long time. And those teams beat us. It's not like that we are not playing well.
"We centered ourselves a little bit and reminded us about how we were successful. … You don't tear down the house when the house is really well-built. You just kind of move some furniture around."
Forward Maya Moore said she felt healthy and ready to play despite scoring just five points in Sunday's loss at Washington and leaving Tuesday's win last week at Los Angeles with a thigh injury. She agreed it was a challenging week for the Lynx with the high energy put into back-to-back games with the Sparks and a trip to the White House on Monday to celebrate the 2015 WNBA title.
Moore said Tuesday's practice was a good opportunity to refocus and work on a few minor adjustments.
Guard Lindsay Whalen wasn't concerned about the lopsided defeats either.
"There are definitely times in a season you just have to get through it and recognize it and move on to the next thing in the next day," Whalen said. "There are going to be ebbs and flows in a season, and as much as it stings, those kind of losses, back-to-back like that, you have control to make it better for the next game."
