After the Minnesota Lynx resumed the post-Olympics schedule with a home victory over the Washington Mystics, the teams will matchup again Saturday, this time in the nation’s capital.
The Lynx (18-8) are in third place in the overall WNBA standings, a game behind the Connecticut Sun heading into Friday’s play, and four games out of the top spot held by the New York Liberty.
In the Lynx’s 79-68 victory Thursday over the Mystics, Napheesa Collier led a balanced attack with 17 points and 12 rebounds in her first league game after winning a gold medal for the United States at the Paris Olympics.
Courtney Williams scored 14 points, while Alanna Smith and Kayla McBride each added 12 points for Minnesota, which shot just 34.3 percent in the first half but took control of the game with a 7-0 run midway through the fourth quarter. Smith won a bronze medal with Australia.
“Finding a way is what this team has done all year,” said Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve, who was also the head coach for Team USA. “Collectively, this is what the team has done. I saw that in timeouts, during the course of the game. They had that.”
The Lynx improved to 2-0 against the Mystics this season, with two more games remaining, both at Washington.
Ariel Atkins scored a team-high 12 points for the Mystics while Brittney Sykes scored 11 points and Jade Melbourne added 10 off the bench. Melbourne also played for Australia at the Olympics.
Washington led 37-35 at halftime Thursday before shooting 34.5 percent from the floor in the second half and 16.7 percent from 3-point range (1 of 6), while committing nine turnovers.
Sykes (foot) played in just her fourth game of the season and first since June 11. Shakira Austin (hip) and Karlie Samuelson (hand) also played Thursday as Washington was near full strength.
“There was a couple times during the game where I’m like, ‘It’s not there yet,'” Sykes said, according to the Washington Post. “I miss a chippy or a shot that I normally hit. I don’t have the pop that I normally have. It’s going to take time, and I might be shocked, and it might come when I’m least expecting it.”
–Field Level Media
