Minnesota Lynx celebrate Sylvia Fowles in last regular-season home game ahead of WNBA legend's retirement

MINNEAPOLIS — As the Target Center crowd chanted «Syl's House!» and teammates and opponents alike looked on with pride, Minnesota Lynx center Sylvia Fowles soaked up the affection Friday night.

Fowles, a former MVP and the WNBA's all-time-leading rebounder, will retire at season's end, and the Lynx and their fans wanted to make sure she felt appreciated. Fowles has spent the past eight seasons of her 15-year WNBA career with Minnesota, a place that turned out to be a perfect fit for the Florida native.

«What hit me the hardest in the ceremony was the fans,» Fowles said of the postgame celebration that was held on the court after the Lynx fell 96-69 to Seattle in Minnesota's last regular-season home game." Just listening to them scream and give me my flowers, shall we say. It was nice."

Fowles has been one of the most dominant centers ever in women's basketball, dating back to her college career at LSU, her seven years in Chicago after being selected No. 2 in the 2008 draft, her Lynx tenure and her USA Basketball success, which included four Olympic gold medals.

Whether this is the last time fans will see her play on the Target Center court is still not certain. Even after the loss, the Lynx are still clinging to a chance at the playoffs. Minnesota is now 14-21, a game behind Phoenix and New York, who are tied at 15-20 for the last two playoff spots.

The Lynx will need to win at Connecticut on Sunday and then hope either the Mercury (who play Chicago) or Liberty (who play Atlanta) lose that day. If they all finish at 15-21, the Lynx have the tiebreaker against Phoenix and New York based on head-to-head record.

«We still have one more game left,» said Fowles, who had 13 points and 12 rebounds Friday. «We still have a