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This has been a dramatic few weeks for women's sports in America, and in Minnesota.
Just this weekend, two Minnesotans qualified for what has been described as the most difficult team in the world to make, as Suni Lee and Grace McCallum will compete in women's gymnastics for the United States at the Tokyo Olympics.
Lee finished second at the Olympic trials in the all-around to only Simone Biles, one of the greatest athletes in history regardless of category.
Nelly Korda won the Women's PGA Championship, making her the first American woman to rank first in the world since 2014.
Regan Smith of Lakeville qualified for two events in Tokyo at the swimming trials, and St. Cloud's Alise (Post) Willoughby is going to her third Olympics in BMX racing.
Shoreview's Kyra Condie (climbing), Edina's Jordan Thompson (volleyball) and Shoreview's Lara Dallman-Weiss (sailing) have qualified, and as usual the Minnesota Lynx will be well-represented.
Coach Cheryl Reeve has been a fixture as a Team USA assistant. Napheesa Collier was chosen for her first Olympic team. And then there is Sylvia Fowles, who was chosen for her fourth Olympic team even before she spent the last week refreshing her credentials as — according to Reeve and reality — the greatest center in WNBA history.
Before playing at Atlanta last Wednesday, the Lynx were 5-7 and in danger of becoming one of the league's most disappointing teams. Fowles produced 26 points, 19 rebounds, one assist, two steals and five blocks in an 87-85 victory. Only once before had a WNBA player produced as many as 26 points, 19 rebounds and five blocks in a game.
Then Friday night, the Lynx played one of their most important and difficult games to date, against Las Vegas. Fowles became the first player in WNBA history to record at least 30 points, 10 rebounds, four assists, four steals and four blocks in a game. On Monday, Fowles was named the Western Conference player of the week.
She has even dominated by the measure of a less-celebrated statistic that the Lynx track and value.
"We just recognized Syl for those performances,'' Reeve said on a Zoom interview on Monday. "I just told our team, in 25 years in the WNBA, think of all the great players who have played the game, no one did what Syl did in this last game. So that's the perspective we put on it — 30-plus points, 10 plus rebounds, the steals, the blocks, and then one that's near and dear to us. She has back-to-back double-digit deflection games, which speaks to her overall activity. She's been everywhere for us on both ends.''
When the season began, Reeve planned to restrict Fowles' playing time, which Fowles called "frustrating."
Fowles is 35, and as a power player she takes a beating on the inside, often facing double teams and random elbows. When the Lynx started poorly, Reeve second-guessed herself and began playing Fowles like any other star.
"It got to a point where it was mental for me," Fowles said. "I'm like, I don't want to know how many minutes I'm going to play. If I'm playing good, keep me out there. If I'm playing bad, you can take me out. I'm back at my normal minutes, which is no problem."
Fowles is the WNBA's all-time leading rebounder. (Lynx assistant coach Rebekkah Brunson is second.) Fowles ranks fourth in blocks. She ranks 15th in points, with a chance of passing former teammate Seimone Augustus to get into the top 10.
The Lynx play their next two games in Phoenix, facing Brittney Griner, who is third all-time in blocks, and Diana Taurasi, easily the most prolific scorer in league history.
So you don't have to wait for the Olympics to start to see women's sports history. Fowles vs. Taurasi and Griner might be a better matchup than anything you see on the court at the Olympics.
"Syl just continues to climb different lists on career numbers, but now she stands alone,'' Reeve said. "That's fitting for the work she's done for us."
On Sunday Biles seemed relatively vulnerable. Fowles should be able to relate to the challenges of enduring as an athlete — and in finding a way to dominate.
"The young lady is a phenomenal athlete," Fowles said. "Just what she brings to Team USA, it's unreal."
