Lynx starters used a balanced attack to dominate before taking most, if not all, of the fourth quarter off Sunday night.
That rest will be appreciated in the busiest stretch of Minnesota’s season.
Named an All-Star Game captain earlier the day, Napheesa Collier scored 23 points and had nine rebounds in three quarters, Kayla McBride knocked down five shots from deep as part of a 20-point game, and the WNBA-leading Lynx set a season-high for points in routing last-place Connecticut 102-63 Sunday.
It’s Minnesota’s third-largest win in franchise history. The Lynx beat Indiana 111-52 on Aug. 18, 2017, and Los Angeles 114-71 on July 13, 2006.
“We were just talking about how it’s nice to not be stressed for a game finally,” Collier said as she and Courtney Williams spoke postgame. Minnesota needed overtime to win Friday in Atlanta, three days after a four-point loss in Washington.
Williams filled the stat sheet with 12 points, nine rebounds and seven assists. Alanna Smith had nine points and seven rebounds. Both played just three quarters.
The Lynx shot 50.7%, had assists on 27 of 36 baskets, and grabbed 41 rebounds, two off a season high.
“We didn’t make excuses about coming off the road or being tired or any reason to not come correct, as we say. And I thought that we largely did that,” said coach Cheryl Reeve.
It is the first of a five-games-in-eight-nights home stretch for Minnesota (14-2).
“It’s just good for us to take care of business for many reasons, so we’re not running our legs into the ground, and we’re doing the things that we need to do in reaching the goals we set for ourselves. So it is nice to catch a break where you can,” Collier said.
This stretch includes Tuesday’s Commissioner’s Cup final against Indiana, which includes a $500,000 prize pool. Collier expects a packed Target Center and a game with a playoff feel.
“I want that bag. Straight up. … We gonna go get that money,” Williams said. The Lynx beat New York for the hardware last season.
Concluding a four-game road trip that included two West Coast games and another in Las Vegas, Connecticut (2-15) lost its ninth straight. Connecticut shot just 34.8%, and its starting five had just 27 points on 9-for-36 shooting through three quarters.
It was a far different game than when these teams met May 23 at Target Center. That night, Minnesota scored 23 of the game’s final 25 points, including an 18-0 run, to win 76-70.
But it was again a sizable surge by the home team that proved to be the difference.
A 26-0 run that began late in the first quarter gave Minnesota a 48-17 lead less than three minutes before halftime. The Sun went 8 minutes, 7 seconds between points.
Seven Minnesota players scored as the Lynx netted the first 21 points of the second quarter. McBride had six points, including husting two-thirds of the way down the court to chase down a loose ball after a Sun pass to nobody and calmly draining a 3-pointer.
Connecticut missed its first 13 shots of the second quarter and added five turnovers before its first basket.
McBride drained a couple more treys, Collier had four points, and Williams scored in a 12-0 third quarter run to make it 65-31. The lead reached 41 in the fourth quarter.
The game was not all joy for the Lynx due to the potential loss of forward Karlie Samuelson. She left in a wheelchair early in the second quarter with a foot injury.
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