File this one away and remember it. Put it among all the other memories Sylvia Fowles has given Lynx fans since she came here in 2015. On Tuesday at Target Center, against a team Minnesota hadn't beaten since 2019, Fowles made history.
Sylvia Fowles' historic game leads Lynx to victory over Seattle
Fowles had 29 points and 20 rebounds, putting together a night that was needed in a game that the Lynx led throughout but didn't put away until the final minute.
August 25, 2021 at 2:19PM
Again.
In a 76-70 victory over the defending champion Seattle Storm — who had beaten the Lynx 11 consecutive times, including playoff games — Fowles put together a stat line never before seen in the WNBA:
Twenty-nine points, 20 rebounds, four steals, three blocks. No fouls or turnovers.
"Thank goodness for Syl Fowles,'' Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve said.
Nobody had ever had a game with at least 20 points, 20 rebounds, three steals and three blocks. There have been 19 20-20 games in league history, and Fowles has four of them. She became the fourth player with at least 25 points and 20 rebounds in a regular-season game, the first since 2013.
Fowles played every minute of the second half of a game the Lynx never trailed, but didn't put away until late. Exhausted, she still provided help defense to block Jewell Loyd's shot with 2½ minutes left and the Lynx up four. Moments later Napheesa Collier hit her only three-pointer of the game.
"I don't know just yet,'' Fowles said when asked where this game fit in her career. "But I do know I will start giving myself more credit. I'm the type of player who doesn't try to think about it, because I think this is my job, these are things I'm supposed to be doing. But, at the end of the day, these things are not easy. ... I have some time to let it sink in tonight. So I'll give you an answer to your question later.''
While winning their second straight, the Lynx (15-9) played excellent team defense, holding the Storm (18-8) to 37.8% shooting. The combination of Collier and Bridget Carleton held Storm star Breanna Stewart to 6-for-23 shooting. Stewart finished with 18 points and 16 rebounds but had to work for every point. Loyd had 15 but was 6-for-14. Sue Bird got 10 points on 4-for-12 shooting.
For all of Fowles' dominant play at both ends, it was Damiris Dantas and Collier who finished this game off.
Dantas hit a three — her only points of the game — with 3:17 left after the third time the Storm had pulled within one. On the ensuing possession Fowles blocked Loyd. Moments later, Collier (18 points) hit her three.
Give the rest of the credit to Fowles.
"She never ceases to amaze me,'' Collier said. "She breaks records every single time we have a game.''
Said Reeve: "She put the team on her back multiple times. If she's not defensive player of the year? What a travesty that would be.''
Reeve has been vocal about her belief Fowles doesn't always get the credit she's due. Tuesday she spoke with frustration that the league doesn't seem to want to promote her the way it does other players.
"The league has grossly undeserved Sylvia's career,'' Reeve said. "I'm sure ESPN [which televised Tuesday's game] wanted to love up on all the stars the Storm has ... you guys are watching greatness. One the best players, ever, certainly at the center spot. There is nobody close in terms of what she does for her team.''
Fowles said she doesn't think about those things. She used to, but no more.
"Although I don't get the recognition I'm supposed to get, as Coach would say, it doesn't stop me from doing the things I do. So either you're going to recognize it now or you'll recognize it later. I'm at a place where I'm content with who I am and what I do.''
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