Down by as many as 17 points in the third quarter, the Lynx clawed back to beat Golden State, 75-74, on Wednesday, holding off the Valkyries in the final seconds to sweep their first-round WNBA playoff series, 2-0, at the SAP Center in San Jose, Calif.

Napheesa Collier scored 24 points and hit a go-ahead 18-footer with 1:24 remaining to lift top-seeded Minnesota into the second round.

Minnesota Lynx guard Kayla McBride (21) shoots over Golden State Valkyries guard Carla Leite (0) during the first half of Game 2 in the first round of the WNBA basketball playoffs Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2025, in San Jose, Calif. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

The Valkyries had one final chance with four seconds remaining following a shot-clock violation, but Cecilia Zandalasini missed a pull-up jump shot at the buzzer.

Collier shot 10 for 16 from the field and followed up her 20-point performance in Game 1 with a 14-point second half to bring her team back — and give the Lynx another chance to keep chasing that championship they just missed last year.

Kayla McBride put the Lynx up 71-70 with a scoop shot with 2:48 to go after DiJonai Carrington connected on a 3-pointer from the left corner with 3:18 remaining to pull Minnesota within 70-69.

McBride finished with 18 points

Veronica Burton had 13 points, nine assists, six rebounds and four steals as the expansion Valkyries nearly extended their special season. Monique Billings scored 15 points off the bench.

Carrington banked in a 3-pointer with 8:30 left that got the Lynx within 63-56, and McBride’s jumper made it a five-point game at the 7:19 mark before Golden State called timeout. The Valkyries immediately committed a shot-clock violation and McBride scored again.

The Valkyries, cheered by their raucous sellout crowd of 18,543, were in control for much of the game — unlike their 101-72 loss Sunday at Target Center. Wednesday’s game was played at the San Jose Sharks’ arena in San Jose because the Laver Cup tennis showcase had booked Chase Center before Golden State had even been granted an expansion team.

After the final buzzer, fans chanted “GSV!” to celebrate a season in which Golden State made WNBA history by becoming the first expansion franchise to reach the playoffs in its inaugural season.

But it’s the Lynx that are moving on after losing a controversial Game 5 against the New York Liberty, 67-62, last fall. Minnesota finished with the league’s best regular-season record, 34-10 — a franchise record that tied the 2023 Las Vegas Aces for the WNBA record.

Game 1 of the second-round series against the winner of the New York-Phoenix series is set for noon Sunday at Target Center.

Minnesota Lynx forward Jessica Shepard (15) tries to maintain possession of the ball while defended by Golden State Valkyries forward Monique Billings (25) and guard Kaila Charles (6) during the first half of Game 2 in the first round of the WNBA basketball playoffs Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2025, in San Jose, Calif. (AP Photo / Godofredo A. Vasquez)

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Minnesota United and its supporters had its heart ripped out in the final seconds of a U.S. Open Cup semifinal Wednesday at Allianz Field.

Austin FC’s CJ Fodrey scored on a rebound in the 120th and final minute of extra time for a 2-1 win that pushed the Loons out of the national tournament.

Tied 1-1 after 90 minutes, Minnesota and Austin were nearing penalty kicks before the devastating ending in St. Paul.

If Minnesota would have won, they would have hosted Nashville SC in the final on Oct. 1 after Nashville beat Philadelphia 3-1 in a semifinal Tuesday. Instead, Austin will host the final.

Loons midfielder Joaquin Pereyra gobsmacked supporters with wonderful zip 25-yard, free-kick goal around the Austin wall and inside the left post to tie the game 1-1 in the 67th minute.

Winger Osman Bukari was Austin’s most-dangerous attacker in the first half and his pace beat Nico Romero in behind and pushed his shot underneath Loons goalkeeper Dayne St. Clair for a 1-0 lead in stoppage time.

Loons head coach Eric Ramsay had worried on Tuesday about the threat Bukari’s athleticism presented.

About twenty minutes earlier, Bukari was only issued a yellow card from referee Alexis Da Silva for kicking out at Loons defender Anthony Markanich, who fell to the ground after the contact and was incensed once he got up. A handful of players on both teams got in a pushing match after the incident.

Without a sending off from a red card, Bukari was able to twist a knife just before halftime.

Loons forward Kelvin Yeboah suffered a leg injury and limped off the field in the 29th minute. With new forward Momo Dieng cup-tied to Hartford Athletic and ineligible to play for Minnesota, the Loons didn’t have another No. 9 on the game-day roster.

Yeboah grabbed his hamstring after going down in the box a few minutes earlier. After coming off, he slumped dejected in his dugout seat.

Without his only natural forward, Ramsay troubleshooted with Robin Lod moving from attacking mid to striker, while Joseph Rosales subbed into a midfield spot.

Ramsay’s later moved Bongi Hlongwane from right wing back to center forward and it gave Minnesota more speed up top and helped set up Pereyra’s goal.

The Loons had a handful of minor scoring chance before Yeboah exited, but few after the change across the rest of the first half.

To reach the semifinal, the Loons beat Louisville City 1-0 in the U.S. Open Cup round of 32 on May 7, topped St. Louis 3-2 in the round of 16 on May 21 and defeated Chicago Fire 3-1 in the quarterfinals on July 8.

Trent Grisham homered twice and Cody Bellinger also went deep as the New York Yankees beat the Twins 10-5 on Wednesday night.

Taj Bradley (6-8) started for Minnesota on the mound and allowed seven runs on eight hits and three walks in four innings. He struck out four, while allowing both of Grisham’s homers.

Brooks Lee had three hits and drove in a pair of runs for the Twins, while Austin Martin and Royce Lewis each had two hits.

Aaron Judge went 3 for 4 to raise his major league-leading batting average to .329. The Yankees moved within four games of first-place Toronto in the AL East.

Luis Gil pitched 4 2/3 innings, allowing five runs (four earned) on nine hits. Four relievers combined to blank the Twins the rest of the way, with Fernando Cruz (3-4) getting four outs.

Grisham tied the game at 2-all with a solo homer in the third off Bradley. In the fourth, he took Bradley deep again for a three-run shot — his 33rd of the season — onto the plaza in right field to make it 6-2.

The Twins fought back with a three-run fifth inning, keyed by Lee’s two-out, two-run single.

Bellinger hit a two-run homer in the ninth.

Key moment

The Twins had already plated three in the fifth and had runners on first and second with two out when Yankees manager Aaron Boone called for Cruz. Lewis hit a line drive toward the gap in right-center, but Bellinger ran it down to maintain New York’s 7-5 lead.

Key stat

The four earned runs allowed by Gil were as many as he gave up in his last four starts combined (22 1/3 innings total).

Up next

The Twins welcome Cleveland on Friday for the opener of a four-game series, with Pablo López (5-4, 2.64) on the mound.

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By KIM CHANDLER

A federal judge on Tuesday ordered Alabama’s largest county to redraw county commission lines after ruling that the districts were unconstitutional because of racial gerrymandering.

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U.S. District Judge Madeline H. Haikala ruled the county map was unconstitutional because race was the predominant factor when the Jefferson County Commission drew districts. The ruling came in a 2023 lawsuit that says the plan overly packed Black voters, who make up 40% of the county population, into just two districts.

“Because the 2021 plan violates the Fourteenth Amendment’s protection against racial gerrymandering, the Court permanently enjoins the Commission and its agents from using the 2021 plan in Jefferson County Commission elections,” Haikala wrote.

Jefferson County is Alabama’s largest county and home to Birmingham, the city center of the largest metropolitan area in the state. A new map could shift the balance of power in the county. The commission is made up of three Republicans and two Democrats.

Cara McClure, the lead plaintiff in the lawsuit, said she is looking forward to the commission “coming to the table to finally draw a map that is fair to Black voters in the county.”

“The County Commission is responsible for so many things that impact our everyday life. The main thing is making sure every voice and every vote is heard and counted. And that’s not what has been happening,” McClure said, who is executive director of Faith and Works Statewide Civic Engagement Collective.

The judge gave the county and plaintiffs 30 days to file a report on the development of a remedial redistricting plan.

“We are currently reviewing the order to determine next steps,” Jefferson County Attorney Theo Lawson wrote in an email to The Associated Press.

Kathryn Sadasivan, assistant counsel with NAACP Legal Defense Fund, said the existing plan overly packed Black voters into the two districts while the county sought to maintain set racial ratios in the other three.

“It’s a problem of not just those two districts that were maintained at super majority Black status without consideration of what the Voting Rights Act required, but also an explicit attempt to maintain the racial ratios of Black voters to white voters in every other district,” Sadasivan said.

Haikala noted in a footnote that the results of the case might be different if the commission showed that the higher percentage of Black voters was required to ensure they could select the candidates of their choice. But the judge said the commission offered no such evidence.

Jefferson County was the site of some of the most infamous moments of the Civil Rights Movement, including the 1963 bombing of 16th Street Baptist Church that killed four girls. The industrial city has evolved into a corporate economic engine fueled in part by the banking and medical industries.