Liberty wrap up road trip in Minnesota vs. Lynx

Just gotta grind it out. On Tuesday night, the New York Liberty were in a bruising battle against the Los Angeles Sparks. New York used a strong fourth quarter to come away with an impressive road victory to close out their two game LA adventure.

The opponent tonight is climbing the WNBA standings. The Minnesota Lynx have fully rebounded from an 0-6 start and have a great chance to make it back to the playoffs. They were riding a three game winning streak heading into Tuesday night's affair against the Connecticut Sun. Unfortunately for Minnesota, they couldn't push the streak to four as the Sun beat them by ten points.

Where to follow the game

Ion TV has us covered. Tip after 8 PM.

Injuries

Stefanie Dolson is getting closer to making her return, but not yet. She's out for tonight. Same for Han Xu, who's wrapping up Chinese National team obligations.

Napheesa Collier is doubtful with an ankle injury. Dorka Juhasz is questionable with a right hamstring injury. Rachel Banham is out with a thumb injury. Natalie Achonwa is out on maternity leave.

The game

The Lynx won the first game last week.

The Liberty lost the rebounding battle to the Lynx last week, and when they lose the battle on the boards, they lose games. Their last two losses have come when they’ve lost on the boards, and they’ll look to count on Jonquel Jones to fix that tonight. JJ has grabbed 10+ boards in six out of the eight games post All Star break and has been able to provide that physicality and presence on the inside. With Juhasz less than 100 percent, this could be a big time opportunity for JJ to put the Lynx in foul trouble. Jessica Shepard is recently back from a non-COVID illness and will have to pick up a lot of the workload.

Diamond Miller came up clutch last week and she’ll look to make it work one more time. Miller was named Rookie of the Month for July, and her game has Lynx fans excited for an incredibly bright future. Betnijah Laney will look to slow the young star down. Bee only shot 4-11 from the field on Tuesday, but she hit what proved to be the game winning bucket when the Liberty finally regained the lead. The trio of Laney, Kayla Thornton, and Jocelyn Willoughby will each get their turns to try and keep Miller from getting to the basket. Her jumper isn’t there quite yet, but she has the confidence to

We know how awesome Breanna Stewart is on offense. Her defense has been just as great and has made scoring against the Liberty an incredibly tough adventure

Excellence like that is why the accolades continue to pile up for Stewart

When your threes aren’t falling, you need to be able to find other ways to make things happen. That’s been the case for the Liberty in recent games as their shots haven’t been falling the way we’re used to. With players like Jones, Laney, Stewart, etc. the team has players that can score from all three levels of the court and insist their way to the free throw line. As a team, the Lynx allow the second lowest opponent’s free throw rate. One thing about a Cheryl Reeve coached team, they’ll make you work for it.

Player to watch: Kayla McBride

Without Collier, McBride will be tasked with carrying the scoring load. McBride was monumental in the wins last week over the Liberty and Sun. Her experience and clutch shooting gives the Lynx a veteran hand that can steady the ship and ensure the young players don’t feel too much pressure.

The Sparks threw a bunch of traps at Sabrina Ionescu on Tuesday night, and she struggled to the tune of 3-12 from the field and five turnovers. She also went 1-8 from three, which broke her recent hot streak from downtown leading up to that game. With the extra day off between games, Sabrina should have a little extra in the tank this evening. We mentioned being able to score in different areas above, and Ionescu is able to leverage her success from three point range into drives to the basket that lead to easy buckets for herself and her teammates. You can’t afford to slack against the Liberty because they have threats up and down the roster. One slip and they’ll make you pay.

From the Vault

Tomorrow night, WWE is in Detroit for this year’s Summerslam! In the main event, Roman Reigns will take on Jey Uso in Tribal Combat. The Tribal Chief is used to intense battles at Summerslam, and last year he had the fight of his life against a Minnesota legend

And not to be outdone, the talk of the sports world is Diana Taurasi surpassing become the first player in WNBA history to surpass 10,000 points. DT is one of the game’s greatest players and someone that loves to turn up when the lights are brightest

More reading: Canis Hoopus, Swish Appeal, The Strickland, The Local W, New York Daily News, New York Post, The Athletic. Fansided, Just Women’s Sports, SI All Knicks, Winsidr, Her Hoop Stats, CBS Sports, and The Next