Fowles powers Lynx over winless Sun

It was the 166th double-double in Fowles' career, and it happened despite the fact she played only nine first-half minutes due to the whistles. It was also Minnesota's second win in seven days against 0-4 Connecticut.

Napheesa Collier canned all seven shots she took from the field and finished with 17 points for the Lynx (3-1), adding nine rebounds, four assists and four blocked shots. Crystal Dangerfield hit for 17 points, sinking three 3-pointers.

WNBA scoring leader DeWanna Bonner poured in a game-high 28 points for the Sun, 19 coming in the first half. Brionna Jones managed 15 on just seven shot attempts, but Connecticut got little help from everyone else.

That included Alyssa Thomas, the No. 4 scorer in the league coming in at 19.3 points per game. Playing 39 of the game's 40 minutes, Thomas missed all five shots she tried from the floor and finished with just three points.

Minnesota found lots of trouble during a sloppy first half. Fowles drew two quick fouls in the game's first 3:04, then was whistled for her third with 4:02 left in the second quarter. Between that, point guard Shenise Johnson departed late in the first quarter with a hamstring injury that sidelined her for the game's remainder.

But the Lynx still ended the first with a 12-4 run, getting a foul shot from Collier with 4.3 seconds remaining to take an 18-17 edge. However, the second quarter wouldn't go nearly as well.

Connecticut ripped off a 22-7 run in just under 10 minutes, earning a 39-29 advantage with 2:27 left in the half when Bonner sank two free throws. Even after Dangerfield made two foul shots with 5.0 seconds on the clock, the Sun took a 42-35 lead to the locker room.