Kayla McBride scored 24 points on 9-for-14 shooting, and the Minnesota Lynx held on for a 101-93 win over the Portland Fire on Saturday night in Minneapolis.
Natasha Howard added 16 points on 7-for-8 shooting for Minnesota (20-6), which won its fifth game in a row and completed its homestand with a perfect 4-0 mark. Courtney Williams scored 15 points and dished seven assists.
Lynx rookie Olivia Miles recorded a double-double one game after she rolled her ankle on Wednesday against the Los Angeles Sparks. Miles finished with 14 points and a game-high 10 assists, but she missed nine of 14 shots from the field.
Bridget Carleton scored 22 points on 8-for-16 shooting to lead Portland (11-15), which failed in its bid for back-to-back victories. Carleton shined against her former team, which lost her to the Fire in the expansion draft during the offseason.
Sarah Ashlee Barker scored 21 points on 9-for-14 shooting for the Fire. Carla Leite also scored 21 points, and Emily Engstler finished with 12 points and a team-high six rebounds.
The Lynx led 24-16 at the end of the first quarter. They grabbed a double-digit lead in the early going when McBride made a running jump shot to give Minnesota a 22-12 advantage with 1:42 remaining in the opening session.
By halftime, Minnesota led 47-39. Serah Williams sprinted toward the basket and made a running layup to bring the Fire within eight points in the final minute of the first half.
The Lynx outscored the Fire 28-21 in the third quarter to increase their advantage to 75-60.
Minnesota finished the third quarter on an 8-0 run to seize a commanding lead. Antonia Delaere started the run with a pair of free throws, Courtney Williams made a pull-up jump shot, Dorka Juhasz added a basket, and then Juhasz helped finish the run when she assisted on a floating jump shot by Maya Caldwell.
The Fire fell behind by 19 points when Anastasiia Olairi Kosu made a layup to put the Lynx on top 81-62 with 8:48 left. Portland, which oustcored Minnesota 33-26 in the fourth quarter, got within six points with about two minutes left but could get no closer.
–Field Level Media
