The Minnesota Lynx’s defense suffocated the Chicago Sky, but Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve left the postgame podium unsatisfied. As she put it, “both teams hang their hat on the defensive end,” and that identity defined the contest from the opening tip. It was a rugged, physical road encounter for the Lynx, who managed to navigate their way through to a dominant 79-58 victory. Yet Reeve’s postgame tone suggested the path to victory masked deeper concerns

However, despite how comfortable the final scoreline looked, coach Cheryl Reeve was not entirely satisfied with how her team performed to get there. Speaking at the postgame press conference, shared on the Minnesota Lynx YouTube channel, Reeve admitted that even though she expected a defensive battle, she was not entirely pleased with her team’s execution.

“I knew coming in probably wouldn’t be one for Lou, you know. And that was certainly true. Much to do with Chicago and their physicality. And then also, I didn’t think we had the best focus in just getting off the ball and making simple plays,” she said.

The Lynx committed 14 turnovers during the game, with 11 of them coming before halftime. Those turnovers disrupted the rhythm, but Chicago failed to capitalize. The shooting numbers from the first half were equally troubling, with the Lynx going into the break at just 35% from the field and a brutal 2-of-14 for just 14.2% from beyond the arc.

Reeve hasn’t shied away from calling out her team in post-game conferences. After the first Lynx-Sky game this season, she highlighted her team’s tendency to foul, which had been the cause behind Chicago taking the win. In fact, the coach said that the fouling had been an issue “since training camp.”

Cheryl Reeve offered grace, citing the realities behind road games. Games on the road have a way of producing exactly this kind of night, and she knows it.

“When you’re on the road, that’s what we always tell them, your defense has to travel, because that’s usually when you have those kind of tough nights,” she said.

But the Lynx’s defense held firm. Even with offensive chaos, they smothered Chicago’s attack. They held them to a dismal 28.6% shooting from the field and a miserable 16.7% from three-point range. “I’m happy we were able to get that done,” Reeve said.

With the victory secured, the Minnesota Lynx officially claimed their three-game regular-season series against the Chicago Sky with a 2–1 record. With this series win, the Lynx extended four consecutive seasons of dominance over the Chicago Sky.

“We Were Hard to Play Against”: Cheryl Reeve Credits Lynx’s Defensive Dominance in Win Over Chicago Sky

While it wasn’t the best of nights offensively for the Minnesota Lynx in their game against the Chicago Sky on Friday, they still delivered a quite impressive defensive performance. And it ultimately played a major role in securing the victory. Speaking in her postgame press conference, head coach Cheryl Reeve did well to acknowledge that defensive display when asked what she liked most about her team’s performance.

As she said, “As a team, I thought we understood our principles pretty well. You know, like I said, we weren’t perfect by any stretch. But I thought we were hard to play against in terms of shots in the paint.” For Reeve, even though the overall performance, particularly on the offensive end, was far from perfect, the Lynx did an excellent job defensively, especially when it came to protecting the paint.

Chicago’s 6-foot-7 center Kamilla Cardoso led one of the league’s most imposing frontcourts. But despite that, the Lynx completely neutralized them.

Specifically, Chicago attempted a massive 35 shots inside the paint and missed 22 of them. The Lynx held the Sky to just 37.1% shooting in the paint, which is a miserably low efficiency rate for shots taken right next to the basket.

With the win, the Lynx now hold a 6-2 record this season and currently sit atop the Western Conference standings. They will face the Phoenix Mercury in their next game. And they will be hoping to continue that momentum and secure their fifth consecutive victory.