Fowles grabs 17 boards, Minnesota evens series
MINNEAPOLIS — The Minnesota Lynx were still stinging two days after they failed to grab a single rebound in the first quarter of their WNBA Finals-opening loss to the Los Angeles Sparks.
So Sylvia Fowles decided to grab them all in Game 2.
Fowles grabbed a Finals record 17 rebounds and scored 13 points to lead the Lynx to a 70-68 victory over Los Angeles on Tuesday night, evening the series at one game apiece.
The Sparks are trying to become the first repeat champions since 2002, and they head home having earned a split at raucous Williams Arena.
“When we really put our minds to rebounding, nobody can stop us,” Fowles said. “... My mind-set was just crash the boards. Every opportunity I got, crash the boards.”
The Lynx held the defending champions to 38.7 percent shooting to bounce back from a last-second loss in Game 1.
Candace Parker had 17 points, six assists and five rebounds for the Sparks, who had the ball and a chance to tie or take the lead with 13.1 seconds to play. Chelsea Gray then lost the handle on her dribble for a turnover, one of two big ones by Los Angeles in the final 14 seconds.
Gray scored 15 points for Los Angeles, and Stanford alum Nneka Ogwumike had 11 points and 13 rebounds.
Minnesota head coach Cheryl Reeve torched her team Monday after getting behind 28-2 in the first eight minutes on Sunday. The Lynx responded in a major way in Game 2, grabbing a 15-point lead in the first eight minutes. They held Ogwumike and Parker to a combined 0-for-11 in the first half.
But Parker capped an 11-3 run that cut Minnesota’s lead to three with 1:21 to play. After Maya Moore went 1-for-2 at the line, Rebekkah Brunson was whistled for a questionable foul on Parker on the next possession. She converted both foul shots to make it 70-68, and Moore missed a jumper on the other end.
With Seimone Augustus hounding her, Alana Beard was whistled for a five-second call on the inbounds play.
“I didn’t see anyone open,” Beard said. “That said, my responsibility is to get the ball in bounds.”
The Sparks had one more shot, but Gray, who beat the Lynx with a jumper in the final seconds of Game 1, couldn’t deliver. After she lost the handle, Brunson poked away the ball and Moore grabbed it to seal the win. Sparks protest: For the second straight game, the Sparks left the court just before the “Star Spangled Banner started,” a show of support for their NFL brethren who have come under criticism from President Trump for using the national anthem as a vehicle to protest social injustice.
The Sparks were booed heavily as they exited the court and again as they reappeared after the song was over. Ogwumike and Parker have said that the display is not meant to be derogatory toward the flag or American soldiers.
The Lynx locked arms in a show of unity before Game 1, but stood in line in normal fashion before Game 2.