Olivia Époupa saw action in five of the first seven Lynx games this season, for a grand total of 36 minutes.

She led the team Sunday.

Her offensive numbers of four points and two assists are not going to jump off the state sheet, but the great energy and defensive play — including four steals — by the unheralded backup point guard played a huge role in the Minnesota Lynx continuing their best start in five seasons.

The spark provided by Époupa helped the Lynx dominate late to beat Dallas 87-76 and improve to 6-2 for the first time since the 2020 bubble season.

“I really think she was like the momentum change when she came in,” said Napheesa Collier, who led the way with 24 points and 14 rebounds. “Just like steal after steal, deflection, just being such a pest on defense, getting out in transition. I feel it was kind of neck-and-neck for a while, but she came in and broke the game open for us.”

Minnesota led 51-50 with 3 minutes, 32 seconds to go in the third quarter when Époupa checked back in. She played 11 seconds in the first half.

With Époupa playing dynamically at both ends, the Lynx scored 26 of the game’s next 35 points for a 77-59 lead midway through the fourth.

Coach Cheryl Reeve said she went over to the rookie from France with about five minutes to play, thanking her for being ready when she got an opportunity.

“She’s been on our minds because we’ve been in situations like this before; we felt like she’s one that could help us through it. Today we actually pulled the trigger and did it. Obviously, she was pretty impactful for us,” said Reeve who won her 306th game as a WNBA head coach, tying Bill Laimbeer for second-most all time. Longtime Connecticut and Washington coach Mike Thibault has 379.

Époupa said her mindset this season has been simple.

“I just tried to get myself ready working hard,” she said. “We know that we have a great team with great leaders, so just be ready, focus on my team and when my time comes, I try to help the team as much as possible.”

Up 61-59 early in the fourth, the Lynx scored the next 16 points, including nine by Collier.

Minnesota had seven of its 15 steals in the fourth. For the game, the Lynx scored 30 points off 28 Dallas turnovers.

Kayla McBride led the Lynx with 25 points, including 15 from outside the arc, and also played tough defense against Arike Ogunbowale, the league’s top scorer at 27.5 points per game entering the day. Ogunbowale was 6-of-17 shooting, finishing with 21 points.

Collier said Époupa epitomizes the Lynx depth.

“We have such depth that goes down the line where if you take one person away there’s someone right behind them to make up for that,” Coller said. “Courtney (Williams) struggled today a little bit and Ollie came in and won us the game with her defense. It’s just so hard to play against teams like that. I knew this was coming, it’s just really exciting to see it play out.”

Related Articles

Rookie Alissa Pili breaks out in Lynx’s 95-71 rout of Phoenix

Lynx fall to two-time defending champion Aces

Balanced Lynx take down New York, improve to 3-1

Lynx suffer first loss in overtime battle with undefeated Sun

Lynx’s Collier earns WNBA Western Conference Player of the Week

The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension has provided more details about the fatal shooting of a Minneapolis police officer, including identifying the two Minneapolis officers who fired their guns during the shootout in the Whittier neighborhood of south Minneapolis.

Three people died and four were injured in the incident Thursday.

The BCA gave the following details in a news release Sunday night, which follows a preliminary investigation:

Minneapolis police received a call at 5:15 p.m. Thursday about two people shot inside an apartment at 2221 Blaisdell Ave S.

Jamal Mitchell, 36, was the first police officer to arrive on scene. He stopped about a block away from the building. He said on his radio that he saw two men with injuries in the street. The two men were later identified as Mustafa Ahmed Mohamed, 35, of St. Paul, and a bystander.

The BCA release says Mitchell got out of his car and approached Mohamed, who was sitting next to a parked vehicle, and asked Mohamed if he was hurt. Mohamed pulled out a handgun and shot Mitchell at close range, and Mitchell fell to the ground incapacitated.

Other officers arriving on the scene saw Mohamed continue to shoot Mitchell. As they approached, Mohamed began shooting at them, according to the release. Nick Kapinos and Luke Kittock fired, hitting Mohamed. Kapinos used his department handgun and Kittock used his department rifle.

The release says the Minneapolis officers attempted life-saving care. Mohamed died at the scene, and Mitchell later died at the Hennepin County Medical Center. Kittock and a Minneapolis firefighter were injured, and both were treated and released from the hospital. The bystander who was shot before police arrived remains hospitalized in critical but stable condition.

A handgun with an extended magazine and numerous cartridge casings were recovered at the shooting scene, BCA officials said. Investigators are reviewing all video footage of the shootings including body camera and squad car camera footage.

In addition, the BCA is investigating a shooting in the apartment building where another man, Osman Said Jimale, 32, was shot dead.

Kittock has nine years of law enforcement experience.

Kapinos has 10 years of law enforcement experience. He was one of several Minneapolis police officers who responded to a standoff call resulting in the July 14, 2022, death of Tekle Sundberg. The 20-year-old Sundberg was shot and killed by two police snipers who fired through the window of his apartment. Sundberg had barricaded himself inside an apartment after firing shots into a neighboring apartment. Kapinos didn’t fire his weapon in the incident, and no charges were filed against the officers involved in Sundberg’s death after an investigation determined the shooting was legally authorized.

The BCA will present findings from the investigations to the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office, which will review them and consider charges.

Related Articles

Hennepin County attorney drops murder charges against State Patrol trooper in shooting death of Ricky Cobb II

At least one South St. Paul police officer fires weapon after man brandishes gun, points it at officers

Man who shot and killed Minneapolis police officer identified, authorities say

Crime victims may get fewer services as federal aid drops. States weigh how to help

Third fatal shooting of officer in Minnesota is most in state in 40+ years

FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — Gymnastics superstar Simone Biles won her ninth U.S. Championship on Sunday, leaving little doubt that at 27 and a decade-plus into her run atop the sport, she is as good as ever.

Biles posted a two-day all-around total of 119.750, nearly six points clear of runner-up Skye Blakely and leaving little doubt that she appears ready to add a second all-around Olympic gold to go with the one she captured in 2016.

In front of an audience that included her husband, Chicago Bears safety Jonathan Owens, Biles put on a four-rotation clinic that featured all the trademarks of a typical Biles performance. There was jaw-dropping athleticism mixed with precision and more than a splash of swagger.

Biles finished with the highest two-day score on all four events — something she’d done only once before at nationals (2018) — to build plenty of momentum ahead of the Olympic trials later this month in Minneapolis.

Her only misstep on Sunday came on vault. She came up short on her Yurchenko double pike — two back flips with her hands clasped behind her knees — during warmups and overcompensated when it counted, generating so much force she wound up on her back. She still received a 15.000 for her effort, a testament to a vault that’s never been completed in competition by another woman and only attempted by a select group of men.

Not that it bothered her. Biles collected herself, took a couple of deep breaths then followed it up a Cheng vault that was rewarded with a 15.1 and put a ninth national title within reach, heady territory considering no other gymnast in the history of the sport in the U.S. has more than seven.

While Biles remains above the fray as usual, there is plenty of competition for the other four spots on the five-woman U.S. team that will head to Paris as heavy favorites to return to the top of the podium after finishing second to Russia in Tokyo three years ago.

Blakely, 19, put together another impressive performance and will head to Minneapolis with plenty of momentum. Three years after her bid to make the 2020 Olympic team ended with an injury, Blakely is peaking at the right time.

Suni Lee, the 2020 Olympic champion from Minnesota who has spent the last year-plus battling kidney issues that have limited her training, shook off an early mistake on vault to put together elegant routines on uneven bars and balance beam that few in the world — even Biles — can match. Lee was second overall on the beam to Biles and fourth on the bars. She was tied for 10th in the floor exercise.

Olympians Jordan Chiles and Jade Carey are in the mix, though both endured falls on beam on Sunday. Third-place finisher Kayla DiCello slipped off the uneven bars. Leanne Wong, perhaps looking fatigued after a long season competing at Florida, also endured uncharacteristic miscues.

Shilese Jones, considered the best all-around gymnast in the U.S. without the last name Biles, pulled out of the championships on Friday, citing a shoulder injury though she said Sunday she was feeling better and plans to be available for trials. So will 18-year-old Kaliya Lincoln, who opted not to compete on Sunday after tweaking something during Friday night’s opening session.

Both — if healthy — figure to be serious contenders to earn an invitation to Paris (Jones in particular). If they’re not, the door could swing wide open for others and test the depth the senior elite program has been touting for years.

Related Articles

Saints bounce back with 8-1 win against Rochester Red Wings, finishing winning road trip

Miranda homers, drives in winning run as Twins beat Astros 4-3

Timberwolves’ roster next season will be expensive; basketball brass wants ownership to pay the bill

St. Paul native Sean Sweeney says ‘it was special’ to help lead Dallas past Timberwolves in West Finals. Now, he’s focused on a title

The Timberwolves’ offensive approach won’t change next season — the execution will have to

Charges have been dismissed against a state trooper in connection with the fatal shooting of a 33-year-old man during a traffic stop last July, the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office announced Sunday, saying that in light of new information prosecutors felt unable to prove “beyond a reasonable doubt” that the use of force was not necessary.

Trooper Ryan Londegran was charged with murder in the shooting of motorist Ricky Cobb II, who failed to get out of his car during a July traffic stop and took his foot off the brake when officers tried to arrest him.

“Ricky Cobb II should still be alive today,” Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty said in the press release. “Today’s necessary decision does not change that fact, nor does it exonerate Mr. Londregan or the methods his supervisors used to train him in difficult situations. The question of whether we can prove a case at trial is different than clearing a person of any wrongdoing. There are so many points at which Mr. Londregan could have handled the situation differently, and if he had, Ricky Cobb might still be alive. But that is not the question before us as prosecutors; the only question is whether we can still prove beyond a reasonable doubt that a crime occurred given this new evidence. The answer to that question is no, and I would violate my ethical duties if I nonetheless continued with the case.”

New evidence

The decision was made after new evidence was presented in court by defense lawyers, she said.

The press release said that in court on April 29, the defense said that Londregan was going to testify that he saw Cobb reach for the trooper’s firearm shortly before he fired shots that killed Cobb. In addition, there was also going to be testimony saying that trainers never told troopers not to shoot into moving vehicles during “an extraction, even though that is best practice.”

Because of this information, prosecutors consulted with a use of force expert to see if they could prove beyond a reasonable doubt that deadly force was not justified, the press release said.

Earlier, when announcing the charges of second-degree unintentional murder, first-degree assault and second-degree manslaughter, Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty said Londregan’s use of deadly force against Cobb, a 33-year-old Black man, was not justified.

“As with all Minnesota law enforcement officers, state troopers may only use deadly force when it is necessary to protect a person from a specific identified threat of great bodily harm or death that was reasonably likely to occur. That did not exist in this case,” Moriarty said at the time.

Londregan’s attorney Chris Madel called his client “a hero,” saying Londregan, 27, was trying to protect himself and a fellow trooper. Madel filed papers seeking to have the case dismissed or at least to have Moriarty removed from the case.

Stopped on Interstate 94

Londregan shot Cobb after two other troopers pulled him over on Interstate 94 in Minneapolis when he saw the lights were out on the Ford Fusion that Cobb was driving, according to the criminal complaint.

One of the troopers, Brett Seide, checked Cobb’s record and found he was wanted for violating an order for protection in neighboring Ramsey County. There was no outstanding arrest warrant, however, so the troopers checked with Ramsey County officials to find out if they wanted Cobb taken into custody, the complaint said.

Ramsey County asked that he be arrested. By then, Londregan had arrived.

Seide approached the driver’s side of Cobb’s car while Londregan went to the passenger door, according to the complaint.

The troopers asked Cobb to get out of the car, whose doors were locked and front windows down. Seide told Cobb he was under arrest while Londregan reached inside, unlocked the doors and began opening the passenger door. The complaint said Cobb then shifted the car into drive and took his foot off the brake.

According to the complaint, Cobb’s car began to slowly move forward. Londregan reached for his gun. Cobb stopped the car. The trooper pointed his gun at Cobb and yelled, “Get out of the car now!” Cobb took his foot off the brake again. Within less than a second, Londregan fired his handgun twice at Cobb, striking him both times in the chest, the complaint said.

The car accelerated forward while Seide’s torso was still inside. Seide and Londregan tried to keep up with the car for several feet before falling. The car collided with a concrete median about a quarter mile (400 meters) away.

The troopers caught up, pulled Cobb out and attempted lifesaving measures. Cobb was pronounced dead at the scene.

This story contains information from the Associated Press.

Related Articles

Third fatal shooting of officer in Minnesota is most in state in 40+ years

Minneapolis man gets 30 years for killing St. Paul 19-year-old amid Mall of America holiday shoppers

Violent Crime unit teaming BCA agents with local cops to focus on guns, drugs

Second man charged in Minneapolis gun battle that killed off-duty Eagan firefighter

Charges: Slain off-duty Eagan firefighter was caught in crossfire between two groups of shooters