While each of the Lynx's last five games will be crucial, the biggest is Sunday's showdown with Sacramento at ARCO Arena, the conclusion of a four-game road trip that has started out with two losses and culminates in a back-to-back against the Storm and the Monarchs. After Minnesota gets through this stretch, the schedule becomes more favorable. Two of the Lynx's last three games are at home, and all three are against below-.500 teams.

Playoffs or no, this season has served as a turning point in a rebuilding effort that began in earnest when the Lynx dealt long-time star Katie Smith to the Detroit Shock just before the 2005 trade deadline. After limping to a 14-20 finish that season, Minnesota won 10 games apiece each of the last two seasons. This year, the Lynx reached double-digit victories by mid-July. With a 3-2 finish, the Lynx would finish .500 for just the third time in franchise history, joining back-to-back playoff appearances in 2003 and 2004.

The turnaround has come on the strength of one of the greatest rookie classes in league history. Both No. 3 overall pick Candice Wiggins and second-round selection Nicky Anosike are locks for the All-Rookie Team. In an ordinary year, Wiggins would be an easy pick for Rookie of the Year. Alas, with 'Ace' (Candace Parker) dominating the league, 'Ice' (Wiggins) will have to settle for second place. While Charde Houston has not been as consistently productive as her rookie teammates, she has given Minnesota excellent production for a third-round pick. Only one other third-round pick, Sacramento's A'Quonesia Franklin, is still with the team that drafted them.

During the last week before the WNBA's Olympic break, Wiggins suffered a frightening back injury at Indiana, walking away with a deep bruise. She had the month of August to rest and heal, but Wiggins hasn't been quite as productive since scoring 22 points in a win over Washington in the Lynx's first game back from the break. Over the last two games, Wiggins has been held to 21 points on 4-for-19 shooting, including missing 12 of her 13 three-point attempts. Wiggins is shooting just 39.9 percent from the field and 31.5 percent on threes, but she makes up by getting to the line more frequently on a per-minute basis than any other player in the league. The key defensively is keeping her on the perimeter and making her a jumpshooter, but that is much easier said than done.

Anosike hasn't drawn as much attention as Wiggins, and understandably so, but her emergence as a presence in the paint has been invaluable for a Lynx team that has long searched for a post player to complement starting power forward Nicole Ohlde. Anosike could be compared to Storm counterpart Yolanda Griffith in that she's a center who relies much more on quickness than size and strength (not that either lacks those attributes). Griffith is famously one of the WNBA's all-time steals leaders as a center. Anosike leads the league in steals at 2.4 per game, not far off Griffith's league-best 2.5 a night in 1999 (she also tied Nykesha Sales as the leader in 2004).

As good as the rookies have been, the Lynx would love to get their sophomores going. Minnesota added point guards Lindsey Harding and Noelle Quinn during the 2007 Draft, when they were taken first and fourth, respectively. After Harding tore her ACL last season, Quinn stepped in as the starter. When Harding suffered a stress fracture of her patella in the same knee in April, Quinn retained the job to begin this season. Just before the break, the two traded spots, and Quinn has played sparingly ever since.

Harding and Quinn offer contrasting strengths, and two years into their careers both are looking to round out their games. Harding is terrific off the dribble, which was more valuable before the Lynx added another player in Wiggins who is best with the ball in her hands. Quinn, meanwhile, has proven an adept initiator but has not been enough of a scorer to force defenses to respect her. Harding looked like the Rookie of the Year (albeit in a much thinner class than this year's rookie crop) before her injury and has the talent to be a star in the WNBA - but might be a better fit elsewhere.

For the Storm, the playoffs are now a certainty, but there's still plenty at stake in the last four games of the season in terms of seeding. San Antonio defeated Los Angeles Friday in a matchup of two of the West's other top contenders. The Storm and Silver Stars are once again tied atop the Western Conference, while Los Angeles dropped 2.5 games off the pace. By winning two of the next three games, the Storm can ensure that the Sparks have no chance of catching them with a win in their nationally-televised showdown next Sunday in L.A.

KEY MATCHUP
	If the Lynx make the postseason, forward Seimone Augustus will end up being a big part of the WNBA MVP discussion. Augustus ranks fourth in the league in scoring at 19.6 points per game. That's slightly down because of the talent around Augustus this season, but the tradeoff is that she is averaging a career-high 2.8 assists. The Storm did an excellent job defensively against Augustus in the last meeting at the Target Center, holding her to 10 points on 3-of-16 shooting. She did hand out five assists, but the Storm will be happy to have Augustus play passer. With Sheryl Swoopes limited by injury, Swin Cash will have the primary duty of defending Augustus. She also made the Lynx star work at the other end in Minnesota, scoring 17 points and grabbing 11 boards.

The Storm truly held on for a 76-73 matinee victory July 22 in Minnesota. The Storm led by as many as 17 in the third quarter and was still up 12 with 4:48 to play before a 9-0 Lynx run. A Vanessa Hayden-Johnson score made it a one-point game with 1:23 to play. The Lynx took over with that same deficit and 34 seconds left on the clock, but the Storm forced a miss and a shot-clock violation. Following two Camille Little free throws, Wiggins' desperation attempt at the buzzer was off, giving the Storm the win.

With starters Griffith (migraine) and Lauren Jackson (national team commitments) out and Swoopes missing the second half after pulling her hamstring, the Storm relied on Sue Bird, Cash and Little with major help from Tanisha Wright. Bird scored 22 points on 7-of-15 shooting, while Cash had 17 points and a season-high 11 boards for her first double-double of the year. Little matched her 17 points and had seven boards, while Wright shot 6-of-8 in scoring 12 points. Rookies Wiggins and Houston combined for 30 points off the Lynx bench, while leading scorer Augustus was held to 10 points on 3-of-16 shooting.

INJURIES

Storm - Guard Sheryl Swoopes (bruised right heel) is probable. Forward Lauren Jackson (right ankle surgery) is out.

Minnesota - None.