Napheesa Collier scored 33 points and helped spark a late 18-0 run as the Minnesota Lynx remained undefeated by edging the Connecticut Sun 76-70 on Friday night in Minneapolis.
The Lynx wiped out a 15-point hole with the huge burst that covered less than four minutes. Collier, who also pulled in 11 rebounds, had seven of those points, including a 3-pointer that ignited the rally. She shot 11-for-21 from the field with three 3-point baskets.
A couple of reserves — Jessica Shepard’s 13 points and Natisha Hiedeman’s 11 points — aided the Minnesota offense, which overcame 7-for-24 shooting on 3-pointers and 15 turnovers.
The game-ending 23-2 scoring run ended up being more than enough, as the Lynx (4-0) also outscored Connecticut 19-6 on free throws.
Marina Mabrey poured in 22 points and reserve Haley Peters had 12 points for the Sun (0-3), who were charged with 21 turnovers. Saniya Rivers added 11 points and Olivia Nelson-Ododa had 10 points and 10 rebounds.
The Sun, who were in their first road game of the season, looked safe with a 68-53 lead with five minutes to play after Tina Charles hit a jumper. But the team finished with just two more points and 25 second-half points overall.
The Lynx closed to within 68-66 on Collier’s basket with 2:24 left. Two Collier free throws tied it and Hiedeman’s 3-pointer gave Minnesota its first lead of the game with 1:05 to play.
Mabrey’s basket to make it 71-70 marked the only Connecticut points in the last five minutes.
Hiedeman hit another shot on a drive down the lane and Collier, who became the WNBA’s first player this season to reach the 100-point mark, bagged the game’s final three points on free throws.
The Sun hit eight of their 14 baskets from 3-point range in the first half to take a 45-35 lead at the break. Nearly half of Connecticut’s 17 first-half baskets came from beyond the arc with Mabrey (10 points) hitting three of them.
–Field Level Media
