WNBA: Semifinals series between Lynx, Sun shifts to Connecticut

The 2024 WNBA semifinal series between the No. 2-seed Minnesota Lynx and No. 3-seed Connecticut Sun shifts to Uncasville this Friday, Oct. 4, tied at one game apiece. Tip off for Game 3 of the series is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET, and the game will be broadcast nationally on ESPN2.

After a somewhat disappointing Game 1 performance on their home court, the Lynx evened things up in Game 2, defeating the Sun 77-70. Minnesota’s seven-point margin of victory was the largest of any of the five games played between the Lynx and Sun in 2024 (regular-season games included), further highlighting how evenly matched the two teams are.

“The more we play [the Sun], the more we understand what’s available,” Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve commented after the game. “We had an aggression about us that was necessary. You have to be physically and mentally tough, because they sure are.”

Reeve went on to praise her team’s bounce-back mentality, particularly that of guard Courtney Williams. After struggling in Game 1, Williams scored a team-high 17 points in Game 2, 15 of which came in the second half; she and Minnesota’s other guards also held up better defensively against the Sun’s Marina Mabrey, who knocked down six 3-pointers in Game 1 but shot just 4-of-14 in Game 2. As a team, the Lynx outshot the Sun 45.2 percent to 36.4 percent.

The Sun have to address the details in Game 3

The Sun will now get an opportunity to defend their home court, a place where they’ve historically been quite successful. During the 2024 regular season, the Sun went 14-6 at home, and their 10.3 net rating at home was second in the WNBA.

Connecticut head coach Stephanie White knows that her team won’t be able to lean on homecourt advantage alone, though, citing a need to improve in several areas—mainly 3-point defense and defensive rebounding. “When you’re talking about two of the best defensive teams in the league, every possession matters,” White told the media after Game 2. “We’ve got to clean up some of the details and bounce back.”

It’s nothing new in the ongoing chess match between White and Reeve, whose teams—despite going about their respective…