Lynx vs. New York, 7 p.m. at Target Center, Bally Sports North
Lynx update: The Lynx have won two in a row, including a victory over Seattle a week ago. This is the second of four games in a row at Target Center, a homestand that comes after a stretch of playing 10 of 13 games on the road. The Lynx and Liberty have split two games, with the Lynx winning 88-78 Aug. 15 at home in the first game following the Olympic break. ... C Sylvia Fowles is coming off an historic, 29-point, 20-rebound, four-steal, three-block game in a 76-70 victory over the Storm Aug. 24. F Napheesa Collier had 18 in that game. Both Collier and F Damiris Dantas have struggled with their shot of late — especially on three-pointers — but both hit crucial threes down the stretch vs. Seattle. Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve said Collier has been battling plantar fasciitis this season; the three days off Reeve gave her high-minute players this week should really help her.
New York update: The Liberty have lost four in a row and seven of eight, the lone victory coming at home vs. Seattle. Those seven losses have come by an average of 14.6 points; New York's three-point loss to Los Angeles Aug. 22 was the only loss not coming by 10 or more points. The Liberty has been without G Sami Whitcomb for the past two games, and New York lost them both, to Phoenix, by a total of 43 points. Whitcomb is out for the Lynx game as well. C Natasha Howard had 30 points on 13-for-22 shooting vs. the Lynx Aug. 15. She is averaging 15.5 points since play resumed following the Olympics. G Sabrina Ionescu has averaged 12.3 points, 6.2 rebounds and 6.0 assists her past six games. G/F Betnijah Laney, in her sixth season, is averaging a career-high 17.8 points.
