In Friday night's WNBA nightcap on the schedule, the Phoenix Mercury hosted the Minnesota Lynx. The Lynx were looking to bounce back from a recent loss, while Phoenix was looking to continue their winning streak. However, Minnesota received a combined 56 points from three of the team's top stars and picked up the 88-71 win on the road. In unfortunate news for the Mercury, they lost one of their top stars in addition to losing the game. Here's a look at the Lynx vs. Mercury WNBA game recap, a standings update, and what's next for these two squads.

WNBA game recap

Friday night's matchup included a battle between two of the top centers in the league with Phoenix's Brittney Griner versus Minnesota's Sylvia Fowles. The recently-named All-Star starter Fowles finished the game with a double-double to help her team grab the double-digit win. Fowles scored 18 points and 10 rebounds in the latest effort. Teammates Maya Moore and Seimone Augustus each scored 19 points to help lead the Lynx to their 14th win of the season.

Unfortunately for the Phoenix Mercury, it wasn't their night. The team not only lost 88-71 but also lost the WNBA's leading scorer Brittney Griner in the fourth quarter. She left the game early in the quarter and has been diagnosed with a left knee bruise and right ankle sprain.

She's expected to be out for approximately 3-4 weeks with the injuries.

Griner led all Phoenix players with 15 points while Diana Taurasi finished with 14. The Mercury shot just 36.1 percent for the game, while their opponents hit at a rate of 52.3 percent for the outing. Minnesota also outrebounded the Mercury 32-27 for the game and hit 41.2 percent of the three-point shots they took.

Maya Moore accounted for four of the seven shots from downtown that her team hit.

Standings & what's next

The Minnesota Lynx are now 14-2 overall and 8-1 on the road for the current season. They lead the overall WNBA standings by three games over the Los Angeles Sparks. Next up, they'll play another game with the Mercury, this time on their home court.

That game is scheduled for 7 p.m. Eastern Time on Sunday night.

The loss of Brittney Griner will certainly hurt the Phoenix Mercury. The team is still third overall in the WNBA standings with an 11-7 overall record and a 6-5 mark at home. They visit Minnesota for another game with the Lynx on Sunday at 7:30 p.m. Eastern Time, but it's hard to see the team finding a way to overcome a team as talented as the Lynx without Griner in the lineup.
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