Breanna Stewart is excited to see where the Seattle Storm measure up early in the season against the undefeated Minnesota Lynx.
The teams will square off Saturday in a showdown of the top two teams in The Associated Press WNBA power poll .
“You definitely have to respect what Minnesota has done and the talent that they have,” Stewart said. “But as far as our team, we are coming into this game with the same mindset and mentality as the previous games. We want to protect our homecourt and show everyone how much we have grown from last season to this season.”
Seattle (4-1) is off to its best start since 2010, when the team was also 4-1. The Storm’s great start was no shock to Minnesota coach Cheryl Reeve.
“I think going into the season, all of us knew that Seattle finished the season strong last year,” she said. “Really found their identity. Wasn’t a surprise they’d come in and be a team doing well. Not a surprise to any of us in the league they are doing so well.”
The Lynx (6-0) have found ways to win despite Maya Moore being in a bit of a scoring slump to start the season. It hasn’t mattered as Sylvia Fowles has picked up the slack, earning WNBA player of the month honors for May. She’s averaging 20 points and 10.7 rebounds for the Lynx.
“It’s early, both teams are wanting to start off and score the basketball,” Moore said. “Always a tough team to play at home. It will be a fun challenge for us early off in the season.”
This is the fourth matchup between the top two teams in the AP power poll since it started last season. Minnesota has been involved in all of them, going 2-1 against Los Angeles in the regular season last year. Stewart is no stranger to them, going 6-0 at UConn in games involving the top two teams in college basketball.
“A 1-versus-2 showdown does bring me back to college and I am looking forward to the game and the electric KeyArena atmosphere,” she said.
This also isn’t the first time that Minnesota (6-0) has gone into Seattle unbeaten. The Lynx won their first seven games in 2014 before losing in Seattle.
“They play great at home and we enjoy that challenge of going there and trying to beat a team at home,” Reeve said.
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