WNBA showdown: Lynx (12-0) visit Sparks (11-0) on Tuesday

It hasn’t always been easy for the league to carve out a place in the sporting landscape, but Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve said she is encouraged by what she’s seen under the leadership of new president Lisa Borders and a double-down of support from NBA Commissioner Adam Silver. On Wednesday, one of those teams will own the all-time record with 12 wins and no losses. But it wasn’t an easy victory for the Lynx. Ogwumike is extremely strong when it comes to driving towards the basket. She had a career-high 32 points against CT on Thursday night. But it wasn’t meant to be. Based on those schedule-adjusted ratings, we can project the likelihood of the Sparks and Lynx continuing their streaks. Both teams insist they haven’t been scoreboard watching, but the wins keep piling up. Los Angeles went up 54-47 in the third quarter before Minnesota scored seven straight to tie the game.

Minnesota finished the period with a 22-8 run to go ahead 77-63 at the start of the fourth. Even when Moore had her worst game of the season against the toughest opponent, Minnesota still won.

As for Minnesota, they’ll need to watch Ogwumike and Parker.

Delle Donne missed her first five shots and had just four points at halftime. She ended the game with 9 points and 6 rebounds. Howard was 7-for-7 from the field and is shooting 65 percent. McBride had 14 points with 10 rebounds and Monique Currie added 14 points.

After the game, Sue Bird talked about that depth: “They’re just very solid at every position”. The Lynx are 13-0 now, and showed just how formidable they are.

“They ran a really good play”, Sparks coach Brian Agler said of the shot by Montgomery, a former UConn guard. Minnesota is a team that’s jelled together for years and has their strategies down. “That fuels how we play on the offensive end”.

“First of all, it’s insane that coach even called my number after I literally missed three shots in a row, wide open”, said Montgomery, who missed six of seven shots before making the winning basket.

Maya Moore finished with 18 points, seven rebounds and eight assists for the Lynx, which enjoyed a 35-23 edge on rebounds.

The team is second in the league in points per game with 86.9.

Rebekkah Brunson #32 of the Minnesota Lynx brings the ball up court against the Los Angeles Sparks on June 21, 2016 at STAPLES Center in Los Angeles, California. We’re not on point and in sync with what we want to do.

“There are times when people focus on a lot of external things, and I think that that’s one thing we don’t do”.

What’s Next? Seattle gets some time off to rest and relax and to actually get some practices in. “Everyone wants to have the top two teams play for the championship”. The Lynx also host the Liberty, and their only road games between here and game 20 are against the struggling Connecticut Sun and San Antonio Stars.