Chicago Sky falls to Lynx in opener

MINNEAPOLIS - Sylvia Fowles had 26 points and 10 rebounds and the Minnesota Lynx defeated the Chicago Sky 70-61 on Sunday night in the season opener for both teams.

Fowles had 7 points in the fourth quarter, scoring each time after the Sky twice pulled within 3 points.

"She is a tremendous player and very talented and her teammates do a great job of spacing the court and weaving the ball to get her great looks," Sky coach Amber Stocks said of the former Sky player. "We did our best with our defensive scheme to counter that and credit to Minnesota for really attacking the paint."

Rebekkah Brunson scored 4 straight to give Minnesota a 69-59 lead with 2:20 remaining.

Maya Moore added 11 points but was 1 of 11 from 3-point range, for the Lynx, who lost in the WNBA Finals last year and are ranked second in the AP preseason poll. Fowles, who began her career with the Sky, also had 4 steals and 3 blocks.

Tamara Young scored 14 points, and Jessica Breland had 11 points and 10 rebounds for the Sky, ranked 10th in the poll. They never led.

Stocks was short-handed in her coaching debut. The Sky, which traded leading scorer Elena Delle Donne, was without veterans Courtney Vandersloot, the starting point guard, and Allie Quigley, who are fulfilling obligations overseas. The Sky had 22 turnovers.

"Again, Minnesota is a very aggressive defensive team," Stocks said of the turnovers. "They get up and pressure the ball and they force you to play at a pace that throws off your timing and spacing a little bit.

"So then turnovers are a result of that. We will continue to work on what we need to work on; our spacing, our timing, making sure we have proper screening angles and things like that."