Minnesota enters Olympic break riding 7-game winning streak
Published 4:29 pm Tuesday, July 13, 2021
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NEW YORK — No team has been playing better than Minnesota the past few weeks as the WNBA enters its month-long Olympic break.
The Lynx are riding a seven-game winning streak and have turned around their season.
“You can feel the chemistry, you can feel the resiliency,” Minnesota coach Cheryl Reeve said. “But I don’t think you have that without going through hard times first. For us, coming out of the gate, we knew weren’t a very good team. But, out of necessity, we grew into it.”
A big reason for the change has been the addition of Layshia Clarendon, who Minnesota signed after its 0-4 start. During the current winning streak, she’s averaging 14-1 points, 6.4 assists and has shot nearly 63% from the field. The Lynx are 12-3 with Clarendon, who was cut from New York early in the season.
While most teams would love to keep going while playing well, Reeve was happy for the break — although she’ll still be busy as an assistant for the U.S. women’s basketball team.
“I am very grateful for the break,” Reeve said. “But I’m glad we ended on a really good note.”
The Lynx have climbed the standings and moved up to fourth in the AP power poll this week.
“Feels awesome to finish strong and it gives us a lot of confidence,” said Lynx forward Napheesa Collier. “When we come back we just need to tweak things.”