KEY STATS

Through the first half, Minnesota led Chicago in points in the paint, 20-10. For the game, the Lynx won the paint battle, 34-26.

• Minnesota led Chicago 14-6 in fastbreak points.

• The Lynx outrebounded the Sky 43-36.

• Minnesota led Chicago in second chance points 12-11.

KEY RUNS

• Trailing by one in just over six seconds left of play, Odyssey Sims’ turnaround jumper with 6.4 seconds left sealed the game for the Lynx tonight. Sims finished with a team-high 16 points while adding four rebounds and four assists.

• The Lynx began the game on a 16-5 run over the first 9:02.

• Over the third quarter’s final 2:54, the Sky went on a 14-2 run to close the score to 56-55.

CHICAGO NOTES

Guard Diamond DeShields recorded five first-quarter rebounds, a season high for a quarter.

• DeShields went on to tie her season high in rebounds with nine.

• The Sky had 12 first-half turnovers (10 points), with eight in the first quarter.

• Allie Quigley tied a career high by converting six three-point field goals. She previously made six three-pointers against the Storm in 2017 and against the Liberty in 2016.

• After her 20-point, 10-rebound performance on Sunday, Jantel Lavender was limited to four points and six rebounds in the loss.

• Forward Cheyenne Parker tied her season low in points with two.

• Courtney Vandersloot did not lead the Sky in assists for the first time this season and tallied her lowest total in a game this season with four.

• Jamierra Faulkner and Katie Lou Samuelson didn’t see action in their return from the injury report.

MINNESOTA NOTES

• Sylvia Fowles recorded her seventh double-double of the season, tying her with Jonquel Jones for most in the WNBA this season.

• In a matchup with her former team, Alaina Coates recorded two points and snagged five rebounds in her return to Wintrust Arena after being dealt by the Sky on May 21.

• After recording eight assists in three straight games, Odyssey Sims only dished out four assists in the victory.

• Sims’ 23 field-goal attempts are tied for the second-most in her career. On August 16, 2014, Sims attempted 27 field goals as a rookie.

• Danielle Robinson set a career high with 10 rebounds

POSTGAME QUOTES

SKY GENERAL MANAGER & HEAD COACH JAMES WADE

On the final play:

“I messed up. It’s a play that we did a few weeks ago and we did it again later, but I didn’t get it organized because the lineup was a little funkier than I thought it would be. We had Gabby [Williams] as a forward and normally I have Gabby in at the guard so it was a quick decision. I just messed up, I messed up and I wish I could take it back there again.”

On the loss and moving forward:

“Hopefully we can grow from it. They’re a tough team. I don’t think we came out ready. I don’t think we came out with the mental preparation to know that it’s going to be tough and I guess we came out a step slow and we have to be ready from the beginning. So if it’s something that we have to do, we will do it, they’re willing, they’re all in, so we just have to find a way to get them ready at the beginning, especially with a physical team. We’re normally ready for an offensive team that likes to go out, because we like to go out and run and we catch on a little bit easier, but a physical team like that, that’s going to beat you up and grab you and deny passes, we slow down to a pace that we can’t slow down to, because they put pressure on us. That’s what we have to be ready for.”

SKY GUARD DIAMOND DESHIELDS

On committing to defense against Odyssey Sims: “I mean, ultimately I’m one of the most athletic players in the league, in the world really, so just utilizing that, I don’t really care who I am guarding. Odyssey [Sims] is a great player, great offensive player, but I just feel like I am able to be disruptive and tonight it didn’t favor me, because the last shot she hit was tough, but I liked my defense tonight.”

SKY GUARD ALLIE QUIGLEY

On being locked-in early on:

“I didn’t feel different than any other game honestly. I just knew I was trying to focus on just being strong, because like you said they’re a physical team and I struggled early with that, I think we all did. So I didn’t feel any different going into this game.”

On the team’s comeback after the first half:

“Yeah, we showed a lot of heart coming back, but It’s really frustrating thinking that we just dig ourselves a hole in the first half and if we play better and start better then it’s not going to be that kind of result. It’s just frustrating more than anything, but we are just going to stay positive and know it’s in us to be the second half team.”

LYNX HEAD COACH CHERYL REEVE

On coming back after losing a 13-point lead earlier:

“How’d we lose it is the real question. This team has answered in moments of adversity, have a lead and unfortunately losing it and fighting back and figuring out a way to answer. Like I said, fortunately we’ve been in that place before so we didn’t have to panic, we just had to execute over the final few possessions get a couple stops and hope we had a chance at the end. We were fortunate for Odyssey to get a good shot and our defense was pretty stout [to finish] and we just got lucky to see the ball go in for us.”

On Odyssey Sims game-winning shot with 0:06 remaining:

“It’s what Odyssey does. She’s done it her whole career going back to high school and college and I liked her focus even though there’s always a crowd around her, she’s getting hit or creating contact — or whatever — in that moment she’s been so good in terms of technique and follow through and the way that she stayed in that play and kind of willed that ball into the basket.”

On having a 9-6 record despite injuries to key contributors:

“I think any time there’s injuries in a team it changes the drive for some to be successful and I think we have a collection of players — I’m repeating myself in saying this — we have a will to win and they take pride in the way they play. We hang our hat on our defense and it was good for a good part of the game and then it was not good for a large part of the game and it was our defense that actually won this thing when we got some key stops down the stretch.”

LYNX GUARD ODYSSEY SIMS

On her game winning basketball with 0:06 remaining:

“Yeah, the play went the way [Reeve] drew it up that was it, I did what I could, I was able to get by and create some space and I got the shot off.

On the Lynx ability to finish games in the final three minutes:

“Just the last couple weeks we’ve been keying in and focusing on finishing games in the last three minutes as well as the start of the third quarter and the start of the fourth quarter, so we’ve really been concentrating on that and that’s helped us. These last couple games we were able to get these wins and the goal has always been to get a win on the road no matter who you play. It was a grind of a game but we kept our poise, we didn’t rattled, we stayed together even though Quigley hit a couple big ones and we came out with the W.”

On what this win means going forward for the Lynx:

“It’s always big to win on the road, like I said no matter who you play, you come in, you know it’s gonna be tough automatically, ‘cause you’re not at home, but for us to come in here, even though they.

LYNX CENTER SYLVIA FOWLES

On how the Sky got back in the game:

“Our defense was really crappy during that session, and our offense was turning the ball over and they were hitting out in transition and scoring off of our mishaps, so that’s how they got back in the game.”

On the Lynx’s resiliency:

“It comes with this younger generation. These girls are very gritty, and we gotta feed off of that energy. They go out there and they’re very [grunt noise] and you got to be [same grunt noise] too. They’ve definitely taught me a lot in my twelfth year, and I just have to roll with whatever they bring.”

On the Lynx relying on her leadership with Moore and Augustus out:

“You’ve gotta take it as it comes. Right now, I am the only one back, but I like the challenge. I’m not very vocal, but they allow me to vocal this year, and I try not to say too much but Coach [Reeve] thinks I should say more. But just letting them know that I’m here for you. I got your back no matter what through the ups and downs. I have their trust. I just have to go out there to the best of my abilities.”

On returning to Chicago, where Fowles starred for seven seasons:

“It’s always good coming back here. They treat me like this is home, and I’m happy to see the good faces. I’m happy that I still have the friendships over the years that I have, and this is a good place to be.”

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