Lynx keep winning in May; beat Connecticut Sun

Published 10:34 pm Friday, May 26, 2017

UNCASVILLE, Conn. — The Minnesota Lynx just keep rolling in May.

Ever since drafting Maya Moore in 2011, the Lynx haven’t lost a game in the month, winning 22 straight, including an 82-68 victory over the Connecticut Sun on Friday night.

“Starting with our head coach down through the team we don’t like to waste time in training camp,” Moore said. “We get focused right away. We’re healthy and it shows on the court. We don’t believe in wasting time and waiting for our team to evolve. We start from the jump. This is who we are.”

Email newsletter signup

At 5-0, the Lynx are the only unbeaten team left in the WNBA.

Minnesota coach Cheryl Reeve said she doesn’t really think about the May streak as much as caring more about how her team is playing.

“We just find it incredibly important that when our season starts in game one that we come out and play in a way that we’re striving for greatness,” she said. “We don’t want to take our time and evolve as a team. We know we’ll get better each game. We have a mindset when we come out that we want to position ourselves early. It’s like a runner in a race, you want to position yourself early.”

The Lynx are winning this season despite a slow start by Moore. She had just seven points on Friday and is averaging just 13.4 points through the first five games. She isn’t concerned.

“I’m not worried about it,” Moore said. “Shots will start falling and other people are playing great.”

Count Sylvia Fowles as one of those players stepping up her game. The Lynx star center had 20 points and nine rebounds on Friday night. She’s averaging a career-best 21.2 points this season.

“I’m just feeling comfortable out there,” Fowles said.

Rebekkah Brunson and Renee Montgomery each scored 11 points for Minnesota, ranked second in the AP power poll. Fowles entered with double-doubles in three of her first four games.

Moore missed her first seven field goals and finally got a baseline jumper to fall with 8:40 left in the fourth quarter. She finished with seven points and 11 rebounds to help the Lynx control the glass by a 43-27 margin.

“I don’t fault our effort, we tried really hard in the first quarter,” Connecticut Sun coach Curt Miller said. “We got around the paint like we wanted. The game plan was to really attack them and we got around the rim. But we missed a lot of makeable shots early and so sometimes that affects you at the other end and they counter-punched us.”

The Lynx led 42-26 at halftime after holding the Sun to 25.7 percent shooting. Minnesota made 13 of 14 free throws in the first half and finished 22 of 25.

Lynetta Kizer scored 12 points for 11th-ranked Connecticut (0-4).