Courtney Williams doesn’t need much additional motivation when it comes to facing the New York Liberty.
All the Minnesota Lynx guard has to do is remember last season — when the Liberty beat her team 3-2 to win the WNBA Finals.
The rest takes care of itself.
“I don’t need any more ammunition,” Williams said. “I don’t like them. I love them as people. But when it comes to basketball … no. I don’t want them to win. I don’t care who they’re playing. I want them to lose. They beat us. That’s competitive nature. It’s not personal.
“You beat us. I want you to lose everything.”
Williams did everything in her power to make that happen Saturday afternoon, finishing with a season-high 26 points. And the Lynx needed every one of them to come-from-behind in the fourth quarter and beat New York 86-80 before a national television audience and a raucous crowd of 10,810 at Target Center.
It marked the third meeting between the two teams in the past 18 days. The Lynx — who own the WNBA’s best record at 28-5 — won the first meeting 100-93 on July 30 at Target Center and the second 83-71 last Sunday in New York.
Round four comes Tuesday at Barclays Center.
“Winning any game that you have to gut out and that you don’t play your best, or that your opponent makes you not play your best, you’re thrilled with,” Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve said of Saturday’s win. “It’s those sorts of marks along (the way in) the season — when you have to find a way — that builds those experiences you know you’re going to have when you get to the postseason.”
For the fourth-straight game, Reeve’s team was without MVP candidate Napheesa Collier. The WNBA’s leading scorer remained sidelined with a sprained right ankle. But her team has still managed to go 4-0 over that stretch.
“To do this in a stretch of games when we’re playing against really good teams, I’m super proud of us,” Reeve said. “I’m super proud of those who’ve had Phee’s back, because it makes Phee feel better.”
The Lynx had to summon plenty of fortitude Saturday when they jumped in front by as much as 15 in the first half, only to see New York steadily chip away at the deficit, eventually taking a lead of as much as six of their own in the third quarter.
A 3-pointer from Williams and a pair of free throws from DiJonai Carrington cut that gap to 62-61 entering the fourth, then a layup by Alanna Smith put the Lynx on top 62-61.
But New York built its lead back to as much as six before Minnesota staged a rally led by Smith, who scored 10 of her 14 points in the final quarter of play. That included a layup that tied the score at 73 with 5:19 to go.
“It’s a really good experience for us as a collective, just to know what it takes to win when things aren’t pretty,” said Smith, who also had a pair of big blocks down the stretch. “When maybe you’re not playing the way you want to be playing, but you’re still able to win the basketball game.”
Indeed, after New York again jumped on top 78-75 on a layup by Emma Meesseman, Williams hit two straight baskets to put Minnesota ahead to stay.
“The environment was amazing (today),” Williams said. “Shout-out to our fans. They came in and showed out. It honestly never felt like we were out of the game, or even down.
“Shout-out to our fans, because we needed those momentum shifts that they gave us.”
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