Breanna Stewart scored 24 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, and the New York Liberty held on for a 93-81 win over the Minnesota Lynx on Friday night in Minneapolis.
Jonquel Jones added 18 points and 10 rebounds for New York (25-16), which won its first game since the WNBA took a break for the FIBA World Cup tournament. Sabrina Ionescu finished with 17 points and a team-high six assists.
Olivia Miles scored 20 points, grabbed eight rebounds and dished five assists for Minnesota (31-10). Kayla McBride scored 16 points, and Napheesa Collier tallied 14 points to go along with seven rebounds.
Collier made a layup to pull Minnesota within 84-79 with 2:08 remaining.
New York refused to allow a late comeback by the Lynx. The Liberty finished the game on a 9-2 run to seal the victory.
Stewart started the strong finish with a jump shot to make it 86-79 with 1:33 to go.
Collier made a jump shot on the opposite end to cut the deficit to 86-81 with 1:26 left. That proved to be Minnesota’s final basket.
Jones made a 3-pointer and a basket in the paint and Ionescu made two free throws to finish the scoring.
The Liberty entered the fourth quarter with a 65-62 lead.
New York led by as many as eight points early in the third quarter when Stewart made a pair of free throws to increase the lead to 48-40.
The Lynx went on an 11-3 run to even the score at 51-all with 3:45 left in the third quarter. Nia Brodie made a 3-pointer off a pass from Collier to punctuate the run.
Minnesota opened with a 20-19 edge at the end of the first quarter. The Lynx closed the session on a five-point run thanks to a 3-pointer by Maya Caldwell and a driving layup by Natasha Howard.
New York battled back in the second quarter and entered halftime with a 41-37 lead.
–Field Level Media
