Highly familiar Lynx, Sky square off for third time in 13 days

The Minnesota Lynx and the Chicago Sky are getting to know each other quite well during the early part of the season.

They will meet for the third time in 13 days when they face off Friday night in Chicago. The Sky (3-4) won the first meeting 86-79 on May 17 in Minneapolis. The Lynx (5-2) won the most recent meeting 85-75 last Saturday in Chicago.

The last meeting was the middle game of Minnesota’s current three-game winning streak and Chicago’s three-game losing streak.

“I think we’ve grown a lot in a short period of time,” Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve said. “I think we’re on the right path.”

The Lynx, who are coming off a 96-81 home victory against the Atlanta Dream on Wednesday, have been one of the best defensive teams in the league. They rank fourth in scoring defense (82.1), first in field-goal defense (39.8) and second in 3-point defense (28.6).

“I think overall defensively as a team we’re good,” Reeve said. “I think our starters are great and we’re still trying to bring along (backups) and find ways to get a full team effort in that area. We’re going to keep working on that.”

The Sky need to work on their defense. They’re mostly in the middle of the pack – 11th in scoring defense (87.3), seventh in field-goal defense (43.0) and eighth in 3-point defense (33.5).

They are coming off a 111-104 loss to visiting Toronto on Wednesday as they prepare to conclude a four-game homestand.

“We’ve got to be better on the defensive end,” said rookie guard Sydney Taylor, who scored a season-high 27 points off the bench for Chicago.

Skylar Diggins had 23 points and nine assists, and Natasha Cloud added 18 points and nine assists. But the Sky couldn’t match Toronto’s scoring pace.

“It’s just seven games so we’re not panicking,” Sky coach Tyler Marsh said. “But we understand the level of urgency that’s needed. We’ve got to get better on the defensive side of the ball.”

The winner of this game will win the season series because these teams don’t meet again.

–Field Level Media