Playing far from their best basketball, the Lynx still found a way to win.

Shooting considerably below its norm from outside the arc, failing to score more than 18 points in any quarter and again giving up too many offensive rebounds, Minnesota won 70-62 at Chicago on Sunday afternoon.

“There’s no asterisk by what it says. I’m proud of how we stayed tough and gritty throughout the four quarters,” said Kayla McBride.

She led the Lynx with 16 points, including makes of all eight free-throw attempts in the final two and a half minutes.

Coach Cheryl Reeve was far more impressed with McBride’s defense, particularly getting under the basket and hustling for loose balls. “She really wanted to impose her will.”

That was especially true late in the game against Chicago’s top scorer Chennedy Carter.

“She made some huge plays, huge plays, on Carter, got the ball deflected, kept her from getting to her spots in ways we weren’t able to do before that,” said Reeve.

Minnesota held Chicago to five points in the fourth quarter on 2-of-23 shooting. Three of the points came in the final 40 seconds.

“I think we played personnel better in the fourth than any other quarter,” said Alanna Smith, who finished with 11 points, seven rebounds and four blocks.

McBride said the message before the final frame was for the 14-4 Lynx to stay mentally and physically engaged despite a less-than-ideal first three quarters.

“Who we are as a collective are winners and competitive and gritty and tough. When the hardest moments come, that’s what we rely on,” she said.

Minnesota shot 38.5% from the field, including 25% on 6-of-24 shooting from outside the arc. It entered the game shooting a league-high 40% from deep. The Lynx had 23 assists on their 25 field goals.

“This tested us; we were frustrated. I was imploring them to not play frustrated, but to play focused,” Reeve said. “It was an ugly duckling, but we’ll take it.”

McBride acknowledged that Thursday’s loss at four-win Dallas was in Minnesota’s mind.

“I think everybody kind of took that personal in different moments of the game. It’s a collective effort of resilience. No matter what’s happening on the offensive end, we’re all about winning and doing what it takes to win. And I think that’s what that fourth quarter was.”

Napheesa Collier, who was on Saturday’s preliminary injury report with a sprained right wrist but removed Sunday, struggled early with her shot. Yet she finished with 13 points, 11 rebounds, six assists, four steals and three blocks.

She’s the third player in league history to finish a game with at least 10 points and rebounds, five rebounds, four steals and three blocks. Lisa Leslie and Candace Parker are the others.

Chicago (6-11) finished with 16 offensive rebounds, one off the season-high against the Lynx, and two more than Minnesota allowed in Dallas.

The Sky had 44 rebounds to Minnesota’s 40, and had a 36-24 points in the paint advantage. Just 10 of those Chicago points came in the second half.

Angel Reese led Chicago with 10 points and 16 rebounds, becoming the first player in league history to record 10 consecutive double-doubles in a single season.

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The St. Paul Saints got strong starting pitching from Adam Plutko on Sunday on the road against the Iowa Cubs. The offense didn’t help Plutko and the bullpen blew the game late in a 9-1 loss for St. Paul, which lost three of the last four games and split the series with Iowa.

Plutko struck out the first five batters he faced and didn’t allow a hit until one out in the third inning. Two infield singles — the first being a 38 mph grounder — were the first two hits for the Cubs, but Plutko got out of the inning. He finished five scoreless innings with just four hits allowed to go with six strikeouts.

But the Cubs scored twice in the sixth, twice in the seventh and five times in the eighth. St. Paul’s Hobie Harris (1-4) relieved Plutko and ran into trouble.

Harris gave up four runs — three earned — in two innings, allowing four hits and two walks. Scott Blewett was then charged with five runs allowed while getting just one out. He surrendered six hits.

St. Paul’s lone run came in the on an RBI single by Tony Kemp that plated DaShawn Keirsey Jr. Keirsey Jr. had led off the inning with a single to extend his hitting streak to 14 games.

Matt Wallner had two hits for the Saints, who return home to start a series with the Gwinnett Stripers on Tuesday. Randy Dobnak (6-5, 4.05) is scheduled to start for St. Paul.

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SEATTLE — Spring training is a time to get ready for the season. A time to try new things. A time to get locked in. So it seemed a little odd when, in late June, catcher Ryan Jeffers said he was trying to treat every at-bat as a spring training at-bat.

What, exactly, does that mean?

Let him explain.

“Spring training, you’re so focused on the process,” Jeffers said. “You’re so focused on the plan. ‘Hey, did I have a good ID? Did I swing at the right pitches? And really trying to put the onus on that.”

Jeffers was among not just the league’s best catchers but the league’s best hitters earlier this season. But in May and particularly June he hasn’t been quite as successful, leading to what he called a “tale of two seasons.”

That’s what has led to a change in mindset as he seeks to get himself back to where he was earlier this season at the plate.

“I think we finally made the last couple of adjustments. … It’s been — we were kind of down here,” he said, motioning lower down with his hand. “And it’s been kind of climbing back up, feeling better, feeling better, putting together better ABs. Back to not striking out, kind of doing everything I was doing at the beginning of the year, doing it again. … I feel like I’m back to being at the top, back to where I was.”

And the results have started to follow. Jeffers had a seven-game hitting streak that was snapped on Saturday. On Wednesday in Arizona, he hit his first home run since May 30, a long drought for Jeffers, who remains the team’s leader in home runs.

Jeffers said he was getting caught in between at the plate. He wasn’t attacking like he was earlier in the season.

So, what has helped him feel better at the plate?

“I think we realized some of the stuff I wasn’t doing that I did early, like routine-wise, that I really got back to,” Jeffers said. “Getting big picture, it really sucks, that month you’re in there and in the depth of it. But coming out of it and realizing how much baseball is still left to be played, I still feel so good about where I’m at in the season.”

Paddack throws

Chris Paddack suited up in full uniform Sunday and threw his first bullpen since landing on the injured list.

Paddack was placed on the IL Tuesday with shoulder fatigue, and the Twins shut him down, giving the starter, who spent much of last season rehabbing from his second Tommy John surgery, a needed break after he had been describing the baseball as feeling like “a dumbbell” throughout the month and his body feeling heavy.

The Twins have yet to lay out publicly what their plan is for Paddack, but he had expressed hope that he could be back before the all-star break to make a start or two.

Briefly

The Twins will have Monday off before returning to action Tuesday against Detroit. Simeon Woods Richardson, David Festa and Bailey Ober are scheduled to start against the Tigers. … Former Twin Mitch Garver was hit by a pitch in Sunday’s game and left with a right wrist contusion. Because the Mariners’ other catcher, Cal Raleigh, was the designated hitter, they lost their DH when Raleigh had to move behind the plate.

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OF NOTE – RETAIL

Christina Hennington

Target Corp., Minneapolis, announced the promotions of Chief Growth Officer Christina Hennington to chief strategy and growth officer, and Rick Gomez, currently chief food, essentials and beauty officer, as chief commercial officer, both effective July 7. Target’s Chief Marketing Officer Lisa Roath takes on the additional role of chief merchandising officer of food, essentials and beauty in early 2025.

ADVERTISING/PUBLIC RELATIONS

CLUTCH, a Minneapolis-based advertising and consultancy agency, announced the following additions: Shaun Hawk, associate creative director; Taylor Enderle, copywriter, and McKenna Mondt, reputation manager.

EDUCATION

The University of Minnesota announced it has named Steven Koester its first chief semiconductor officer in conjunction with the launch of a website devoted to the University’s semiconductor and microelectronics research and education. Koester is a professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and director of the Minnesota Nano Center in the College of Science Engineering.

FINANCIAL SERVICES

U.S. Bancorp, Minneapolis, announced the resignation of Tim Welsh, vice chair of Consumer and Business Banking; Arijit Roy will assume an expanded role leading the U.S. Bank Consumer and Business Banking products organization. … Blaze Credit Union, Falcon Heights, announced Senior Vice President and Chief Project/Learning Officer Christine Cordell was appointed secretary for the National Credit Union Foundation and again selected to serve on the 2024 Filene Research Institute’s Think Tank, a credit-union market research organization. … Affinity Plus Federal Credit Union, St. Paul, announced the hire of Radha Chavali as chief information officer, succeeding Teri Laufers, who has retired.

FOOD

Schwan’s Co., a Bloomington-based retail food distributor, announced that Brian Schiegg has been promoted to chief executive officer. He succeeds Dimitrios Smyrnios, who announced his retirement. Schiegg most recently served as president of the company’s Consumer Brands business.

HEALTH CARE

Allina Health, a Minneapolis-based metrowide chain of hospitals and clinics, announced that interim finance executive Doug Watson has been named chief financial officer. He succeeds Ric Magnuson, who announced he was leaving the organization in early 2024.

HONORS

Motion 117 Productions, a video production agency based in Minneapolis, announced winning eight Telly Awards for its work on the “Global Community Impact Project” for Wayzata-based Cargill Inc. Those responsible for projects include Jeff D. Johnson, Lauren Josephine and Chad Amour. Telly Awards honor excellence in video and television production.

LAW

National law firm Spencer Fane announced Phillip J. Ashfield has joined the Bankruptcy, Restructuring, and Creditors’ Rights practice group as a partner in the firm’s Minneapolis office. …  Larkin Hoffman, Bloomington, announced it has launched an ancillary service, Larkin Hoffman Public Affairs, to be led by Managing Director Margaret Vesel and based in St. Paul. … Fredrikson, Minneapolis, announced that firm attorney Molly Leisen has been elected vice-chair of the Minnesota State Bar Association Public Utilities Section.

MEDICAL TECHNOLOGY

Flywheel Exchange, a Minneapolis-based provider of medical imaging data management through AI, announced the appointment of Hooman Hakami as interim CEO. Prior to Flywheel, Hooman co-founded Forte Health Advisors. He succeeds Jim Olson, who stepped down as CEO and board member on May 1.

RECREATION

The Minneapolis Parks Foundation announced Anne Hoyt Taff’s appointment as executive director of the Minneapolis Parks and Recreation Board’s nonprofit partner, effective July 1. Hoyt Taff most recently served as vice president of partnerships at the Saint Paul & Minnesota Foundation.

SERVICES

Marsden Services, a St. Paul-based provider of janitorial and other facilities services to business, announced the promotion of Kirsten Van Hulzen to chief human resources officer. Van Hulzen joined Marsden in 2023. … C.H. Robinson Worldwide, an Eden Prairie-based global provider of third-party shipping logistics for business, announced the appointment of Damon Lee as chief financial officer, effective July 8; he succeeds Mike Zechmeister, who is retiring. Lee is vice president and chief financial officer of GE Commercial Engines and Services.

SPORTS

The Minnesota Golf Association, Edina, announced the hiring of Holly Noble as its Women’s Golf Manager. Noble is head coach of the Richfield High School Girls’ Junior Varsity and the Holy Angels Girls’ Varsity golf teams. She succeeds Kris Oftedahl, who returns to teaching at Hill Murray High School in St. Paul.

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