lynx gameday

7 P.M. VS. connecticut • TARGET CENTER • FSN, 830-AM

Lynx at a glance: A scheduling quirk has the Lynx opening their season a week after the WNBA league opener. That is both good and bad. It gave the Lynx an extra week to prepare — they scrimmaged Wednesday against a team of men who ran Sun sets and they had another spirited practice Friday. But it has also been a difficult week to wait. "We want to get the ball rolling," Seimone Augustus said. "And we definitely want to start on a good note." The Lynx return the core of the team that has turned in back-to-back 27-win seasons in Augustus, Lindsay Whalen and Maya Moore. But this will be the first chance fans get to see center Janel McCarville play in a WNBA game in three seasons. The team is healthy entering the season opener, but still is working to find a chemistry with McCarville and a reliable rotation off the bench.

Sun at a glance: Connecticut – owner of the best record in the Eastern Conference last season — is 2-0 following Friday's victory over Chicago. So Saturday's game will be the back end of a back-to-back. The Sun beat the Lynx 88-80 in an exhibition game on May 21 at Target Center without center Tina Charles but has the league's MVP last year back in the lineup. Charles and guard Kara Lawson are dependable scorers. And former Lynx Renee Montgomery is a spark off the bench. But the Sun — with coach Anne Donovan back in the league — is playing this season without F Asjha Jones. She told the team in early April she needed to take a season off because of various injuries.

kent youngblood