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 success in vastly different ways—always seem to end up in tightly-contested games that aren’t truly decided until their final moments. And while each coach can and will continue making small adjustments (White referenced a need for more off-ball movement from the Sun in Game 3), it will ultimately be the players who decide the outcomes.
The matchup between Minnesota’s Napheesa Collier and Connecticut’s Alyssa Thomas, in particular, has lived up to the hype. After a brilliant opening round in which she scored 80 points in two games, Collier has shot a combined 10-for-30 from the field against Connecticut thus far, due largely to Thomas’ physical defense; Thomas, meanwhile, has totaled 35 points, 20 rebounds and 16 assists in those two games, though the Lynx have done a better job than most of keeping her off the free throw line.
The Lynx have proved they don’t need Collier to be at her best scoring-wise to win, though. Minnesota’s bench outscored Connecticut’s 16-4 in Game 2, drawing praise from coach and teammates alike. “A team that has a bench that shows up and contributes is going to have a big-time advantage,” Reeve said. “There’s so much pressure on the starting five, and they need help.”
“You can’t sleep when our bench comes in,” added starting forward Alanna Smith.
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Connecticut’s roster isn’t built in a way that can go toe-to-toe with Minnesota’s in terms of depth—Thomas is always a strong candidate to play an entire 40 minutes, and the few Sun bench players who do see the court aren’t typically asked to score—but the return of point guard Tyasha Harris should help. Harris, who had been nursing an ankle injury suffered in the Sun’s first playoff game against the Indiana Fever, returned to action in Game 2, but in limited capacity. If she’s healthy enough to spell Mabrey more in Game 3, the additional depth and diversity in playing style in the backcourt could be a factor for the Sun.
Connecticut will also need to find a way to keep Hines-Allen from imposing her will. The veteran forward, who Minnesota traded for at the trade deadline, was a game-high +11 in 15 minutes in Game 2 and is one of the few Lynx who can match the Sun’s overall level of strength in the frontcourt. She’ll play a big role off the bench once again as Minnesota looks to take a lead in the series.
Game information
No. 2-seed Minnesota Lynx (1-1) vs. No. 3-seed Connecticut Sun (1-1)
When: Friday, Oct. 4 at 7:30 p.m. ET
Where: Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, CT
How to watch: ESPN2
Lynx injury report: none
Sun injury report: Tiffany Mitchell (out; illness)
