The New York Liberty will look to avoid their third loss in as many meetings with the Minnesota Lynx on Saturday afternoon when they meet in Minneapolis.
The Lynx (27-5) posted a 100-93 victory over the Liberty (21-12) at home on July 30 and an 83-71 win on the road on Sunday. Minnesota will visit New York on Tuesday to conclude the season series between the two teams that clashed in the 2024 WNBA Finals.
By virtue of the Dallas Wings’ 81-80 win over the Indiana Fever on Tuesday, the Lynx are the first team to clinch a playoff spot this season. Minnesota is riding a five-game winning streak despite MVP candidate Napheesa Collier (ankle) being sidelined since Aug 2.
DiJonai Carrington, who was acquired at the trade deadline from the Wings, collected 15 points and six rebounds off the bench in the Lynx’s most recent victory over the Liberty.
Carrington, 27, is grateful to play her role as she continues her pursuit of her first championship.
“I’m a winner, and this is a winning organization,” Carrington said, per MinnPost. “It’s definitely a good feeling to be recognized by some people at the top. Obviously, I miss my teammates in Dallas. I built great sisterhood with them. But at the end of the day, it’s about basketball, it’s about winning, and that’s what I’m here to do.”
This is the finale of a three-game road trip for the Liberty this week. New York defeated the Los Angeles Sparks 105-97 on Tuesday and dropped an 83-77 decision to the Las Vegas Aces the following night.
The defending champion Liberty remain without seven-time All-Star Breanna Stewart (right knee bone bruise), who has been out since July 26. Isabelle Harrison (concussion) and Nyara Sabally (knee) missed the loss to the Aces as well.
However, four-time All-Star guard Sabrina Ionescu didn’t make any excuses.
“We know we have all we need,” Ionescu told the New York Post. “That’s something we can’t control — who’s in, who’s out. That’s never going to be the excuse that we use. And for us, we kind of understood it was on us, like, this loss and how we lost.”
–Field Level Media
