Finally.
It's been more than a month since the Lynx last played a regular-season game. While Minnesota fans were celebrating the contributions of the Lynx members of the gold medal USA women's basketball team — Maya Moore, Lindsay Whalen, Seimone Augustus and Sylvia Fowles plus coach Cheryl Reeve — in the Rio Olympics, the remaining Lynx players stayed behind in relative obscurity, resting and practicing. And waiting.
The Lynx, owning a six-game winning streak and the second-best record in the WNBA at 21-4, return to play Friday night at Connecticut, then return home Sunday against Seattle.
The two-plus weeks of midseason training camp for the non-Olympians is over.
"As players, that's all we want to do typically is play games," said guard Renee Montgomery. "That's what Allen Iverson was taking about with his famous quote 'You're talking about practice?' To be honest, practice isn't always fun, but I think we made it fun. And I think we got better."
The acquisition of guard Anna Cruz, announced on Thursday, could be another boost for the Lynx. Cruz played an important role off the bench in their run to the 2015 championship.
Cruz, 29, helped Spain win the silver medal in the Olympics.
"I'm excited to bring her back," Moore said. "She's a joy to have on the team, with her super energy and the way she approaches the game."