Napheesa Collier collected 26 points and 11 rebounds as the Minnesota Lynx cruised to a 90-81 victory over the Connecticut Sun on Friday night in Uncasville, Conn., in Game 3 of a WNBA semifinal series.
With the win, Minnesota grabbed a 2-1 lead in the best-of-five set and will have a chance to punch its ticket to the WNBA Finals when the teams meet again on Sunday in Uncasville for Game 4.
Collier went 11-for-19 from the field and was one of the many beneficiaries of a fluid Lynx offense that dished out 22 assists. Courtney Williams chipped in 16 points and eight of those helpers, while Kayla McBride finished with 13 points and Bridget Carleton scored 12.
“I think that’s the identity of our team, we always have so many assisted baskets,” Collier told ESPN. “It just shows how well we play together and our chemistry and the way we share the ball.”
All five Connecticut starters scored in double figures, with Brionna Jones (21 points) leading the way. DeWanna Bonner contributed 16 points, and Marina Mabrey netted 14 but hit just 1 of 11 triples. Triple-double threat Alyssa Thomas supplied 13 points, nine rebounds and seven assists.
Minnesota outshot the Sun 57.4 percent to 41.1 percent overall.
“We got outplayed, we got out-executed, we got outcoached,” Sun coach Stephanie White said. “We’ve got an opportunity still in front of us. Our back is against the wall. We know that we have to be better.”
Mabrey finally got going in the third quarter for Connecticut, scoring seven points in the opening 4:16 of the frame. Her three-point play trimmed the Sun’s deficit to 54-47, but she immediately gave those points back, fouling Carleton on a 3-point attempt.
Carleton’s perfect trip to the free-throw line made it a 10-point game, and Minnesota led by at least eight for the rest of the third before taking a 68-54 cushion into the fourth.
Bonner converted an and-one with 1:20 left in the game to trim the hosts’ deficit to 86-79. However, Williams and Carleton quickly answered with jumpers to put the contest out of reach.
Collier knocked down 4 of 5 shots in the first quarter, posting eight points to lift Minnesota to a 23-16 lead after 10 minutes of action.
Connecticut soon fell into a nine-point hole but used a 6-0 spurt to pull within 26-23 with 7:37 left in the second quarter.
The rest of the first half belonged to the Lynx, though. They went up by as many as 14 at 46-32, when Alanna Smith split a pair of free throws with 1:56 to go to polish off a game-changing 20-9 run. Minnesota settled for a 48-36 advantage at the break.
–Field Level Media
