Napheesa Collier scored a game-high 25 points Friday night and the Minnesota Lynx improved to 14-0 at home with a 109-78 rout of the Las Vegas Aces.
Courtney Williams added 23 points and five assists for Minnesota (22-4), sinking 10 of 12 shots from the field. Bridget Carleton chipped in 14 points and Kayla McBride hit for 13 as the Lynx connected on 54.4 percent from the field, going 10 of 25 on 3-pointers. Jessica Shepard came off the bench for 10 points and a game-high 13 rebounds.
A’ja Wilson scored 15 points for Las Vegas (12-13) and Jackie Young added 14 but the Aces didn’t have enough firepower to match up with Minnesota. Playing their second game in as many nights, they sank only 38 percent from the field and were dominated on the boards to the tune of 48-30.
Minnesota carried a 24-point lead into the fourth quarter and the only suspense left was when it would reach 100 points. That happened with 4:07 left on a putback by Shepard, marking the third time this year the Lynx topped the century mark. They finished with a season high in points.
Minnesota wasted little time taking control of the game. It made 7 of its last 10 shots in the first quarter, including a pair of 3-pointers from Carleton, to open up a 27-18 lead. Meanwhile, Las Vegas hit a cold spell, canning just 2 of its last 8 attempts in the period.
Young made a pair of foul shots at the 3:29 mark of the second quarter to pull the Aces within 39-32. But the Lynx gained permanent separation with a 12-3 run to end the half, opening up a 16-point advantage at intermission.
Minnesota put the game away in a marathon third quarter that saw it shoot a remarkable 23 foul shots. McBride made a pair at the line to put Minnesota ahead by 77-52 with three minutes left and the Lynx headed for the final 10 minutes with a comfortable 85-61 cushion.
–Field Level Media
