Storm (9-22) at Minnesota Lynx (21-11)

Target Center | Minneapolis, Minn.

September 8, 2015 | 5 p.m. PT

Broadcast: Live Access

2015 vs. Minnesota: 0-3

Last meeting:  L 82-57 (July 3, 2015)

Leading scorer: Sue Bird, Crystal Langhorne 10

PLAYER TO WATCH: Ramu Tokashiki

Ramu Tokashiki makes her return after spending the past couple of weeks with the Japanese National Team as it earned a trip to the 2016 Summer Olympics. She will have to make a quick adjustment back to the WNBA game and be on the road in Minnesota.

SCOUTING MINNESOTA

The Lynx are coming off a tough loss at New York but still lead the West by two games and can clinch home court advantage with a win on Tuesday. Minnesota is 2-3 in its last five games but the three losses have come to New York twice and Phoenix. Maya Moore is averaging 20.8 points over her last five games and is shooting 89.7 percent from the line. They will also be playing without Lindsay Whalen and a familiar face will be at point guard, Renee Montgomery.

KEYS TO THE GAME

Slow the pace. The Storm has played with only eight available players over the last two games and it has quickly taken its toll in those games. Slow it down and make Minnesota play a half court game. More importantly, take care of the ball. Seattle committed 21 turnovers against Chicago and it resulted in 29 points.

#LoydROY

Jewell Loyd continues to add to her Rookie of the Year candidacy. Already with a Rookie of the Month award under her belt, Loyd is the only rookie in the top five in points, rebounds, and assists and averaged 12.2 points (1st among rookies), 4.4 rebounds (2nd), 2.3 assists (5th), 28.5 minutes (1st), and was shooting 92.1 percent from the line (1st) in the month of August. Loyd has reached double figure scoring in nine of her last 12 games and is averaging 15.4 points over the last five games, including a 21-point performance at Chicago on Sunday. She has also been near automatic from the line and has made 68 of her last 72 attempts (94.4 percent).

AMONG THE LEAGUE’S BEST

One of the more important parts of a player’s game is consistency and Jewell Loyd is starting to show just that. Over her last five games, she is averaging 15.4 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 2.2 assists, which puts her in elite company. She is one of only seven players to be averaging at least 14 points, five rebounds, and two assists. The others are Candace Parker, Tamika Catchings, Maya Moore, Tina Charles, Jantel Lavender and Chelsea Bone.

THE RETURN OF TOK

After a four game absence, Ramu Tokashiki makes her return to the Storm and comes back from the FIBA Asia Championships with some hardware. The Japanese team finished a perfect 7-0 en route to claim a bid to the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio De Janiero and Tokashiki played a major part in that, earning MVP honors for the tournament. She averaged 16.5 points, seven rebounds, two blocks, and 3.5 steals during the semifinals and finals of the tournament.

LANG FILLING UP THE STAT SHEET

Crystal Langhorne has been one of the more efficient and effective players in the league this season. She is third in the league with a 54.9 shooting percentage from the field and had a stretch of eight straight games in double figures, including a 29-point performance where she shot 12-for-13 from the field. Langhorne picked up her first double-double of the season on Friday against San Antonio with 22 points and 10 rebounds and then followed it up with 15 points and four rebounds against Washington on Aug. 30. She is also one of only two players in the league to be averaging 10 points, five rebounds, one steal, and be shooting better than 50 percent from the field. The other is Nneka Ogwumike.

JEWELL LOYD > LAUREN JACKSON

Jewell Loyd did something on Sunday night that had never been done before in franchise history. Loyd’s two free throws late in the fourth quarter were her 13th and 14th attempts of the night, having made all of them. The rookie’s 14-for-14 performance bested the previous single game record, held by all-time great Lauren Jackson at 13-for-13, for the most free throws attempted without a miss.

BIRD FLYING UP THE CHARTS

It has been a season of milestones for one of the all-time greats. With her three pointer late in the fourth quarter on June 25, Sue Bird eclipsed Sheryl Swoopes for 13th on the WNBA’s all-time scoring list. On August 2 at Madison Square Garden, she surpassed the 5,000-point mark to become the only player in league history to record 5,000 points and 2,000 assists for a career and did it in front of her hometown crowd. She is at 5,080 points and passed Tangela Smith for 11th all-time after scoring 13 in the win over San Antonio on Aug. 16. Bird will have a long road to trek to potentially break into the top 10 with Katie Douglas sitting at 5,563.

BIRD IN THE HAND, WORTH TWO IN THE BASKET

Sue Bird continues to be one of the better distributors in the league and dished out a season-high 13 assists, one off a career-high, on August 8 at San Antonio. She also collected 12 on July 18 against Atlanta. Bird is second in the league with 5.3 assists per game and is one of only two players to be averaging 10 points and five assists (Courtney Vandersloot).