Game Preview: Wings at Lynx

 

Dallas Wings (3-3) at Minnesota Lynx (6-0)

Date: Saturday, June 4

Time: 7:00 PM (CDT)

Site: Target Center (Minneapolis, MN)

Television: FSSW-DAL+

Webcast: WNBA League Pass

Game Notes

 

Probable Starters

Wings- Karima Christmas, Plenette Pierson, Courtney Paris, Odyssey Sims, Erin Phillips

Lynx- Maya Moore, Rebekkah Brunson, Sylvia Fowles, Lindsay Whalen, Seimone Agustus

 

Storylines

The Wings hit the road for the first time in two weeks- Dallas is 2-1 this season in away games, winning at Indiana and at Washington.  The Wings went 1-2 in the season-opening, three-game home stand, bringing their overall record to 3-3.

Dallas guard Odyssey Sims and forward Karima Christmas have scored double-digits in every game this season. Sims ranks 10^th in the league with 18 points per game, while Christmas comes in at 23^rd with 13 ppg. Together they will try to keep pace with Minnesota forward Maya Moore, second in the league with 22.3 ppg.

Courtney Paris remains at second place in the rebounding category for league leaders with 11.3 rebounds per game. She also leads the league overall with 68 total rebounds. The seventh-year center out of the University of Oklahoma led the league in rebounding in 2014 and 2015.

This game will match the league’s best offensive rebounding team (Dallas) vs. the league’s top defensive rebounding team (Minnesota). Overall, Dallas ranks 4^th in league rebounds, while Minnesota ranks 6^th.

The Wings lead the WNBA with the most three-pointers made (42) and attempted (133). Nearly 25 percent of the Wings points come off three-pointers, good for first in the league.

Dallas also registers second in the league with 28 percent of its points off of free throws. Wings opponents rank first in personal fouls per game and Odyssey Sims leads the league in both free throws made (44) and free throws attempted (50).

 

What the Wings are saying about Saturday night’s game…

Head Coach Fred Williams: “We have to go in there and play a good 40-minute ball game all the way through. We’re on their tough. They have a lot of momentum going with an undefeated season and the crowd they pull in. With a team like that, you just have to take it a possession at a time and build on it.”

Assistant Coach Ed Baldwin: “I just think that Minnesota is one of the most talented teams out there. They have four Olympians. They play well together and they play very hard. There is not just one person that you have to stop. You have to stop a team and that’s what makes them so dangerous. Maya Moore is probably one of the best players in the league.

“We just have to be focused defensively. Offensively, we’ve always been able to score against them. It ought to be a good contest. We have to keep the crowd out of the game. We have to grow and mature as we go. We’re still a young team, but we have a chance to do something good.”

Guard Brianna Kiesel: “Minnesota is a very good team. They have a lot of veterans. They move the ball well and play a good offense. Maya, Sylvia Fowles, and Lindsay Whalen play really well together. We just have to go out there and play our game.”

Forward Karima Christmas: “They are a tough team to beat. They are running on all cylinders early. We just have to come out there and be aggressive as they are in the game.”