Skylar Diggins scored 19 of her 23 points in the second half, Nneka Ogwumike had 12 points and nine rebounds, and the Seattle Storm rallied from a 21-point deficit to beat the Minnesota Lynx 93-79 on Thursday night at Target Center.

Seattle, which trailed 39-18 midway through the second quarter, tied its second-largest comeback win in franchise history.

Kayla McBride had 20 points with five 3-pointers to lead Minnesota (30-8), which lost for just the second time in 20 home games this season. A win would have secured the Lynx home court advantage for the entire playoffs.

“We didn’t have a level of aggression that Seattle had, especially defensively,” Lynx coach Cheryl Rev said. “They made their own breaks … and they kicked our butts in the second half.”

Seattle closed the third quarter on a 25-6 run over a six-minute span to take a 67-63 lead, capped by 3-pointer by Diggins with 0.6 seconds left.

The Storm scored 34 points in the frame — after scoring just 33 points in the entire first half. Seattle was 12 of 19 from the field in the third, including 7 of 11 from 3-point range.
Seattle made four of its 16 3-pointers in the fourth.

“It wasn’t just the third quarter; we got beat by 27 in the second half,” Reeve said. “We only won one quarter. You could feel it happening in the second quarter.”

Gabby Williams added 16 points for Seattle (21-19). Dominique Malonga and Erica Wheeler each added 13.
Napheesa Collier and Courtney Williams each scored 18 points of Minnesota. Williams also had 10 assists.

“We did a pretty good job in the first two quarters.” Collier said. “In the second half we let it slip.”

“I don’t think anyone can just come in and go through the motions and beat a team, especially this late in the season,” McBride said. “Seattle is a team playing for its life.”

Minnesota outscored Seattle 25-12 in the first and then started the second on a 6-0 run for a 19-point lead. The Lynx led 46-33 at halftime behind 28 combined points from Williams and McBride. Five of Seattle’s 11 field goals in the first half were from 3-point range.

Reeve was called for a technical foul at the end of the third after Diggins appeared to be shouting at the Lynx bench following her 3-pointer.

“They wanted it more than we did tonight, and especially this late in the season,” Collier said. “We can’t let that happen.”

Making his first rehab start since going on the Twins’ injured list with a shoulder impingement, David Festa struck out five through 2⅔ innings to set the tone in the Saints’ 5-4 victory over Toledo on Thursday at Fifth Third Stadium.

St. Paul pitches combined for 16 strikeouts, and Peyton Eeles drove in the winning run with a sacrifice fly in the ninth inning. Trent Baker pitched the ninth for his second save, fanning Gage Workman with the tying run on second.

After a leadoff walk, Festa retired the next three in the first inning, two on strikeouts. He retired the side in order in the second, two more on punchouts, and was pulled after a two-out walk in the third inning brought him to his pitch limit.

Festa finished with a 50% whiff rate (11 of 22 swings) while his fastball averaged 93.7 mph and topped out at 94.4 mph. His sinker averaged 93.8 mph.

Related Articles

Twins leaning into more aggressive base running approach

Addison Barger hits go-ahead double in 8th as Blue Jays rally to beat Twins 9-8

Brooks Lee adapting as Twins’ every day shortstop

Twins stun Blue Jays with four-run rally in ninth

Here’s a look at the Twins’ 2026 schedule

A big second half from running back Calvin Coppersmith proved to be just enough to carry Centennial past Rosemount 21-14 in the season opener for both teams Friday night at Irish Stadium in Rosemount.

The senior’s 4-yard touchdown run with 3:28 to play gave the Cougars their first lead of the night and they were able to hang on from there.

It was Rosemount that struck first after taking the opening kickoff and marching 75 yards to score on a 1-yard quarterback sneak by sophomore quarterback Finn Macken. The touchdown came one play after Macken had completed a 30-yard pass to senior Mayon Dixon on fourth-and-6 at the Cougars’ 31-yard line.

But Centennial answered back with a long drive of its own that looked like it would end with a 25-yard field goal. A roughing-the-kicker penalty, though, gave the Cougars a fresh set of downs. Senior quarterback Isaac Belinske-Strauss took full advantage, bouncing outside to score on a 1-yard run that tied the score 7-7 with 10:26 to play before halftime.

The first two drives ran a total of 13:34 off the clock.

The Irish then jumped on top 14-7 when senior Quintin VeDepo picked off a Belinske-Strauss pass and returned it 43 yards for a touchdown with 1:51 remaining in the second quarter.

After Coppersmith began the second half with a long kickoff return that gave Centennial the ball at midfield, the Cougars advanced all the way to the Rosemount 23. But the drive stalled there and a 40-yard, field-goal attempt was no good.

Centennial got another chance after recovering a fumble at its own 39 late in the third, and this time the Cougars converted on a touchdown run from just over 1-yard out by sophomore Edwin Ekah.

That tied the score 14-14 with 11:11 remaining.

After Centennial forced a Rosemount punt, the Coppersmith show continued as he spun away from defenders for a first down on fourth-and-1 at the Irish 24, then scored five plays later to put his team on top by seven.

Macken led his team all the way to the Cougars’ 40 on Rosemount’s final possession, but a high snap resulted in a 13-yard loss, then a 15-yard personal foul call made it fourth-and-29 and the Irish turned the ball over on downs, allowing Centennial to run out the clock.

Related Articles

High School Football Team Previews: See who will star for your school this fall

High School Football: St. Paul public school team previews

Class 5A football previews: Burnsville, Mahtomedi, St. Thomas Academy

Class 5A football previews: Cretin-Derham Hall, Two Rivers, St. Louis Park

Class 4A football team previews: North St. Paul, Simley and South St. Paul

The schedule didn’t do Stillwater any favors to open the 2025 campaign.

Two of its first three opponents? Defending Class 6A champion Maple Grove and 2024 state semifinalist Shakopee.

Stillwater receiver Chase Edstrom celebrates after a 10-yard receiving touchdown against Maple Grove at Stillwater Area High School on Thursday, Aug. 28, 2025. (Jace Frederick / Pioneer Press)

It doesn’t get much more difficult than that, particularly for a program ushering in a new starting quarterback. Nick Kinsey is in Ohio as the result of a family move, which opened the door for Jack Runk to step in under center.

The junior certainly looked the part in Thursday’s season opener. Runk, an all-state shortstop, went 5 for 5 on the game’s opening drive, which ended in a 10-yard scoring strike to senior running back Chase Edstrom to put the Ponies up 7-0.

Maple Grove running back James Engle celebrates after scoring a 2-yard rushing touchdown against the Ponies at Stillwater Area High School on Thursday, Aug. 28, 2025. (Jace Frederick / Pioneer Press)

The Crimson — the preseason favorites to repeat in Class 6A — eventually found their footing with their ground game. Maple Grove’s offensive line created creases, and senior running back James Engle slashed through them. Engle, who ran for nine scores as a backup last fall, scored two in the first half Thursday in a 37-17 victory to kick off the Crimson’s title defense.

A botched snap by Stillwater on a punt late in the first half led to field goal that put the Crimson up 17-7 at the break. Maple Grove then scored on the opening possession of the third frame to extend the lead to 17, and it looked as though the bout was pretty much over.

But Stillwater answered with a drive on the following possession that resulted in a 26-yard field goal off the foot of Colin Johnston. The Ponies’ defense then delivered a stop, and Stillwater hit a trick play — a double reverse flea flicker — for a 31-yard scoring strike from Runk to Carter Zollar to trim the deficit to 24-17 early in the fourth.

But the Crimson responded as you’d think they would — like champions. Facing a third and long near midfield, Kaden Harney connected with Henry Knutson for a 14-yard completion to move the chains. Two plays later, Jeffrey Norvold sprang loose on a run up the middle for a 26-yard touchdown run that effectively sealed the deal with fewer than 6 minutes to play.

Stillwater turned the ball over on downs on its next possession, setting up a short field that led to one final Maple Grove touchdown as Harney bulled his way into the end zone from 11 yards out. The Crimson looked like a team that will indeed factor heavily into the Class 6A equation this season.

But perhaps the Ponies — a sub-.500 team in 2024 — can, as well. They didn’t look wildly overmatched Thursday. And Runk and Co. were impressive in the passing attack that figures to give opposing secondaries fits all fall.

Stillwater’s early-season schedule may result in a couple unwanted losses on the resume, but should the Ponies stay healthy, these high-end competitions could also potentially lead to growth and an understanding of they’ll need to be by year’s end should they indeed aim to make a deep playoff push.