On a night the Lynx had one of their poorer offensive outputs this season, the defense remained stout.

Dorka Juhász scored 10 points off the bench, had a season-high 11 rebounds and was a team-best plus-19 as Minnesota beat Atlanta 68-55 Wednesday night at Target Center.

The Lynx (12-3) have won five in a row and eight of nine.

Bridget Carleton, who missed Monday’s win with an elbow injury, finished with 14 points. Her third 3-pointer with 1:41 left gave Minnesota a 12-point lead. She added another less than a minute later for good measure.

Napheesa Collier scored 16 points and grabbed eight rebounds, Kayla McBride had eight points, and Courtney Williams had seven points and a team-high six assists.

Entering the night shooting a league-high 46.3% from the field and WNBA-best 40.5% from outside the arc, the Lynx ended at 35.5% and 31.8% respectively.

Led by Juhász, the Minnesota bench outscored Atlanta 19-6.

Atlanta (6-7) not only lost for the third time in four games, but the Dream’s top scorer, Rhyne Howard, needed help to the locker room with a lower left leg injury in the third quarter.

The Dream shot just 28.8% and missed 19 of 23 3-point attempts.

Minnesota outscored Atlanta 36-22 in the paint.

 

Keyed by a 13-0 run between the first and second quarters, Minnesota led 35-30 at the break.

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It was the seventh inning of a tied game on Sunday when Twins manager Rocco Baldelli turned the ball over to Josh Staumont. The Athletics had just rallied for two runs off Louie Varland and had runners on the corners. The Twins needed to stop the bleeding.

Staumont got his man.

And then he returned for the eighth inning, getting three batters to strike out swinging — all on the slider. Entering Wednesday, Staumont had thrown 15 1/3 innings without giving up an earned run since returning to the majors on May 8.

“When you’re coming off an injury and you’re still recovering, he was kind of at that in-between stage in spring training where he was still fighting to prove that he was ready to go when he was still working his way back in some ways,” Baldelli said. “He has made great strides.”

The veteran had thoracic outlet syndrome surgery last summer and began the season on the injured list with a calf strain before the Twins optioned him to Triple-A to let him work his way back.

But of late, he has been regaining his stuff, and he’s starting to work his way into a bigger role in the Twins’ bullpen.

“I’m starting at the bottom. They have to relearn me. They have to know me. I was fortunate enough to be with the Royals for parts of 10 years. They knew me, right?” Staumont said. “It was one of those things that coming here and being able to get your feet wet, understand that, learn the team, be part of the team, you just want it to grow. … It’s nice to start off on a good foot.”

It’s been a long process getting to this point. His four-seam fastball velocity (94.5 miles per hour) is still well below his average in previous seasons, but he did hit 98.9 mph with a pitch earlier this month as his velocity climbs. The higher numbers, he said, were “nice and encouraging.”

He has also massively increased his slider usage — entering Wednesday, he had thrown it 66.8 percent of the time, up from 22.5 percent a season before. Staumont called it a “usable,” and “consistent” pitch.

“His slider has become a good, reliable pitch for him both in the zone and for strikeouts. He’s having days where his velo is up and he’s throwing the ball the way he wants,” Baldelli said. “Hitters have always had a tough time squaring him up. He comes from a bit of a funny angle. He has very good stuff, and he’s a tough at-bat. He’s throwing the ball really well right now.”

And, he hopes, as he gets further and further from surgery, he’ll only get better.

Next year, he said, “is going to be a lot nicer,” but for now, the Twins are plenty happy with what they’ve been seeing lately.

“Every single time you go out there and you have something like the surgery that sets you back to the point where you don’t know if you can pick your arm up above your head again, everything is just a small win,” Staumont said.

Briefly

Simeon Woods Richardson will take the ball on Thursday opposed by former Twin Zack Littell, who is 2-5 with a 4.24 earned-run average for Tampa Bay this season. Littell was a reliever with the Twins from 2018-20. … Top prospect Brooks Lee hit three doubles on Wednesday, helping the Triple-A Saints to their eighth straight win.

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A 20-year-old has been missing from St. Paul since the weekend, and his family and police are asking people to be on the lookout for him.

St. Paul police issued an alert earlier this week, saying Sebastian “Sebas” Santibanez is an endangered missing person. He was last seen walking away from his residence in the Midway area about 5 a.m. Sunday, according to a bulletin from police. A flyer his mother posted said he’s been missing since Saturday.

Sebastian Santibanez (Courtesy of the St. Paul Police Department)

“We need people’s eyes and ears to assist us with trying to find Sebastian and making sure he’s safe,” said Sgt. Mike Ernster, a St. Paul police spokesman, on Wednesday.

Santibanez’s mother, Martha Burton, has asked people to put up flyers about her son — they have an account established, so people can pick up flyers and tape at no cost from FedEx Office at Grand and Snelling avenues.

A map at bit.ly/3VQfE4n is being used to track sightings of Santibanez, places where flyers need to be posted and spots where flyers are already posted. People can comment on a post on Burton’s Facebook page to add a location to the map.

Santibanez is described as 5 feet 9 inches tall, 120 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes. He was last seen wearing all black clothes, white tennis shoes and carrying a black backpack. He has small tattoos on his hands.

Anyone with information is asked to call St. Paul police at 651-291-1111.

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Five people accused of defrauding Minnesota’s Medicaid program out of more than $10 million now face prosecution by Attorney General Keith Ellison.

In charges filed in Hennepin County Wednesday, the state attorney general alleged Medicaid fraudsters provided false documentation, overbilled for services, billed for services they didn’t provide and diverted funds for personal use.

Minnesota distributes the federal money for home care and transportation services to people with low incomes.

In one case, three are accused of stealing more than $9 million from the program. Two of the three — Abdifatah Yusuf and Lul Ahmed — allegedly took $7.2 million and spent it on luxury items rather than their home and community health provider Promise Health Services.

“Yusuf and co-defendant Ahmed frequently used the money stolen from the Medicaid program to fund a lavish lifestyle, including directing over $1 million from the Promise business account into Yusuf’s personal account and withdrawing over $387,000 in cash,” Ellison’s office said in a news release.

Luxury goods

Further, authorities say the defendants bought furniture for the company despite it lacking a physical address, spent $42,000 at luxury automotive dealers, and $80,000 at clothing stores including “Coach, Canada Goose, Michael Kors, Third Degree Heat, Nike, and Nordstrom.”

Yusuf is charged with one count of racketeering and six counts of felony aiding and abetting theft by swindle. Ahmed is charged with two felony counts of aiding and abetting theft by swindle. The case is connected to an investigation announced by Ellison in December that led to three being charged with $11 million in Medicaid fraud.

“Minnesotans who rely on Medical Assistance have a right to expect they’ll receive all the care, dignity, and respect they’re entitled to,” Ellison said. “Minnesotans trying to afford their lives have a right to expect that every one of their tax dollars will be spent properly and legally.”

Other cases

In a case stemming from the same investigation, Abdiweli Mohamud allegedly took more than $1.8 million in Medicaid funds for services ineligible for payment through his business Minnesota Home Health Care. He’s charged with one count of racketeering and six counts of felony aiding and abetting theft by swindle.

In separate cases, Charles Omato and LaTonia Jackson are accused of defrauding Minnesota Medicaid out of $1.4 million in transportation services they never provided through their company, Driving Miss Daisy.

The five accused in the cases did not have attorneys listed in court documents on Wednesday, and they could not immediately be reached for comment.

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