Thursday turned into a playoff preview for the Minnesota Lynx.
Entering the regular-season finale, if the Lynx beat Golden State they’d begin the postseason against the expansion Valkyries, whom they were unbeaten against. A loss meant they would get a Seattle team that beat them twice in four regular-season matchups.
The defense was strong throughout, the offense turned it up in the final quarter, and the Lynx prepped for the playoffs with a 72-53 victory over the Valkyries.
Game 1 of the best-of-three, first-round series between the No. 1 and No. 8 seeds is Sunday at Target Center.
Finishing 34-10, Minnesota tied the 2023 Las Vegas Aces for the most wins in a season in WNBA history. The Lynx finished 20-2 at home.
Natisha Hiedeman led the Lynx with 21 points, and potential league Most Valuable Player Napheesa Collier finished with 19 points, making eight of 10 shots, including three triples in four attempts to add another mark to her stellar career.
Collier is the second player in league history to finish with a 50-40-90 percentage for field goals, 3-pointers and free throws. Her final splits are 53.1%/40.3%/90.6%. Washington’s Elena Delle Donne did it in her 2019 MVP season.
The Lynx shot 43.3%, including 9 for 17 in the fourth quarter when they pulled away.
On Fan Appreciation Night, pink wigs were handed out to the Lynx faithful in honor of the StudBudz duo of Hiedeman and Courtney Williams. The duo keyed a fourth quarter start that quickly bumped a six-point lead to 13.
Dribbling off the wing, Hiedeman did a pump fake, stepped around a defender and scored on a scoop. A trey by Kayla McBride was followed by a Williams steal that resulted in a fast-break layup by Hiedeman.
Hiedeman swished another triple and scored on a layup to make it 59-41.
Averaging 8.8 points per game coming in, Hiedeman’s total made it the fourth time in five games she has scored at least 20.
Coming off a Tuesday loss in Indiana, a game where the Lynx lacked the needed aggression, Minnesota found ways to get back to what made them so successful in their own end.
How good was the aggressive Minnesota defense?
Golden State’s point total was the lowest against Minnesota this season. Its 22 first-half points, the fewest in a half by a Lynx opponent this season. The Valkyries’ eight first-quarter points tied for the fewest in a quarter by a Minnesota foe.
Losers of three straight games after winning five in a row, Golden State (23-21) was just 9 of 33 from the field in the first half, missing all 13 3-point tries and turning the ball over 12 times. It finished with 21.
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