On ESPN 2: Lynx Back On Track As They Host 'Searching' Sky


If the playoffs began today, the 14-3 Minnesota Lynx would occupy the second seed and enjoy a bye right to the semifinals, while the 7-9 Chicago Sky would claim the 8th and final spot in the new format. It’s a curious position for the Sky, who finished 2nd in their Conference last season, falling to Eastern champ Indiana, and are two years removed from the WNBA Finals.

Elena Delle Donne this week moves up as the league’s second-highest scorer at 20.3 ppg, behind season-long scoring leader Tina Charles. All seems to be going according to plan, so where have the Sky lost ground this season?

“Obviously this season hasn’t started out exactly how we would want it to,” Delle Donne said this week. “We’ll have possessions where we do five things right out of six things and the sixth thing might be a missed rebound and they get a layup, so it’s something we’re just continuing to discuss. We’ve got some big games ahead to challenge us.”

A big focus Delle Donne named is defense, where the Sky rate in the top half of the league, allowing 84.1 ppg, and hold the second-best team block percentage at 9.5. Rim protection has been a point of emphasis.

“That’s crucial for us,” explained Delle Donne. “Imani (Boyette) is growing every single game, she definitely has a high basketball IQ, so I feel like we’re able to challenge her each day and get her to grow as quickly as possible. Erika (de Souza) is getting comfortable but having great spurts and big moments. We do need big numbers from them defensively.”

Boyette and de Souza showed just how important their defensive anchor is Friday night in an overtime victory over the red-hot Washington Mystics. Boyette blocked Tayler Hill’s shot at the end of regulation to force the extra frame, where Courtney Vandersloot’s jumper gave way to heroics from de Souza, who blocked Stefanie Dolson’s shot at the buzzer to seal the game. It was only Washington’s 3rd loss in 10 games, but the second in that span at the hands of the developing Sky.

“For us, I’m kind of excited that we’re going through adversity,” said Cappie Pondexter. “I’m such a competitor. I like to figure these things out. I’m more than confident that we’ll hit our stride to make that playoff push.”

When it comes to finding identity, teams like the Lynx and Sparks have perhaps set an unfair precedent this season, each blasting off to record-breaking starts. Pondexter and Delle Donne were impressed with L.A., and they look at Minnesota the same way.

“Obviously they’ve got 4 Olympians on that team,” said Delle Donne. “You’re not gonna shut those superstars down. They’re all very unselfish players, so it’s always a difficult task but it’s something we need right now, to test our defense even more. Right now we’re searching for wins. We’re gonna do whatever it takes to get that win.”

On the other side of the ball, Minnesota has been searching for answers similar to Chicago’s after a three-game losing streak silenced their historic 13-0 start. The Lynx got back on track Saturday with a 23-point win against San Antonio, improving to 14-3. Working out of struggles is a process Lindsay Whalen and the Lynx trust.

“Throughout the years, we come together, we fix the problem,” said Whalen. “Coach Reeve always gets us back in a good mind frame for the next practice or the next day.”

Seimone Augustus also credits Reeve: “She puts a lot of the pressure on herself just like players put a lot of pressure on themselves as far as wanting to go out there and perform at their highest or compete at their best.”

“After watching video, there’s nothing major – like you have to change your whole defensive scheme – it’s really minor things like, we just have to be a little more of the dictators and not allow people to go where they want to go,” said Augustus. “And if you do get there, it’s not easy to get there, their touches are not easy, their shots are not easy.”

“Even though we didn’t want to lose three in a row, we understood that we weren’t gonna go undefeated,” said Augustus. “We don’t want to peak just yet. We want to peak at the right time. We’re still fine-tuning things and we’re gonna get to that point where we are gonna be playing great basketball.”

The next test comes in a Sky team that presents a challenge for the Lynx on the perimeter.

“They have great players, they have a lot of people who put you in a lot of difficult situations,” said Whalen. “They’ll be in here ready to play.”

Make sure you’re ready to watch Sky vs. Lynx Tuesday night at 8:00 PM ET on ESPN 2.