The No. 2-seed Minnesota Lynx and No. 3-seed Connecticut Sun continue their series in the 2024 WNBA Semifinals this Tuesday, Oct. 1, with Connecticut currently holding a 1-0 series lead. Tip-off is scheduled for 8:30 p.m. ET, and the game will be broadcast nationally on ESPN2.
The Sun used their trademark physicality and defense to win the series opener in Minnesota, 73-70, holding the Lynx to eight fourth-quarter points and outplaying them in crunch time to earn the victory. Connecticut head coach Stephanie White described it as a “slugfest;” the tightly-contested, back-and-forth nature of Game 1 mirrored the regular-season meetings between the Sun and Lynx, most of which were low-scoring games decided by just a few points. “This was a tough, grind-it-out victory,” White said after the game. “We knew it was going to be, and and it’s how the whole series is going to be.”
Such is to be expected in a matchup between the WNBA’s top two defenses. The Sun and Lynx ranked No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, in defensive rating during the 2024 regular season, both allowing fewer than 95 points per 100 possessions. They also played at a slower pace than most other WNBA teams, ranking at or near the bottom of the leaderboards in possessions per 40 minutes.
That doesn’t…
