Napheesa Collier and Kayla McBride each drained a 3-point shot early in the second overtime and the Minnesota Lynx went on to beat Seattle 102-93 late Friday.
Collier led Minnesota with 29 points and nine rebounds, McBride scored 19 points and Alanna Smith recorded 16 points to go with six blocks and five rebounds as the Lynx improved to 2-0 for the first time since 2019.
A steal by McBride on Seattle’s first possession of overtime No. 2 led to Collier scoring from deep for the Lynx. McBride hit from deep the next time Minnesota had the ball for a 6-point lead. McBride scored on a drive and Alanna Smith knocked down another 3 with 1:25 left. Collier then converted a feed from Bridget Carleton to ice it.
What a different final frame of regulation it was for the Lynx.
In Tuesday’s 83-70 win at Seattle, the Lynx used a 17-4 run to start the fourth quarter and cruise to victory.
It appeared a repeat performance was to occur.
Its lead whittled to two, starters Collier and Courtney Williams returned to the game and Minnesota went on an 11-0 run for some breathing room.
McBride drilled a 3, Collier scored on a layup after a steal by Smith and offensive rebounds by Collier and Carleton. Williams followed a 3-point play by Collier with a steal and layup before Carleton added a pair of free throws for a 74-61 lead.
But.
Up by nine with 3:30 left, Smith made a pair of free throws; however, a 3-pointer from Jewell Loyd and a free throw Nneka Ogwumike and two more from Loyd got the Storm within five with 1:18 left.
Minnesota’s lead at 3, the Lynx couldn’t find a quality shot and Collier’s off-balance shot amongst three defenders was off the mark. Loyd was tripped up on a drive with 26 seconds left and the shot was blocked by Smith and went out of bounds. Video review upheld the call that it was Lynx ball.
McBride, maybe the team’s best free-throw shooter, missed a pair of free throws with 24.1 seconds left and fouled Loyd at the other end. Loyd made all three with 15.6 ticks left.
Williams missed a jumper for Minnesota, and out of a time out, Loyd did the same for Seattle and the 7,208 in attendance had a free 5 minutes of action.
Minnesota had chance to win the game in the first overtime, but Collier’s second free throw with 2.7 seconds rimmed out forcing another overtime period. Neither team led by more than two points in the first overtime.
Seattle turned the ball over 25 times, resulting in 35 Lynx points. Not that Minnesota can brag because it turned the ball over 27 times, but Seattle only netted 22 points off those miscues.
Minnesota shot 44.3% and was 13 for 30 from outside the arc, including Alissa Pili’s first career points when the team’s top draft pick swished home a shot from the right corner.
Miller arced a rainbow 3 to start the second quarter. Sika Koné made a steal in the defensive end before putting back a Miller miss at the other end for a 27-16 lead. Koné played her first game with Minnesota, arriving earlier in the week after finishing her season in Spain. She finished with two points and five rebounds in three first-half minutes.
McBride capped a 20-4 run with a four-point play midway through the second for a 36-20 Lynx lead. However, Seattle scored the next 11 points, aided by four Minnesota turnovers to get within five.
Leave a Reply