Napheesa Collier scored 22 points on 8-for-11 shooting from the field, and the Minnesota Lynx held on for an 82-71 win over the Golden State Valkyries on Saturday night in Minneapolis.
Courtney Williams added 15 points for Minnesota (16-2), which has won back-to-back games since losing the WNBA Commissioner’s Cup title game against the Indiana Fever on Tuesday. Kayla McBride contributed 12 points, and Jessica Shepard had eight points to go along with a team-high 10 rebounds off the bench.
Tiffany Hayes scored 23 points on 8-for-11 shooting to lead Golden State (9-8). Kayla Thornton notched a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds, and Stephanie Talbot scored 10.
Minnesota edged Golden State in part because of its assist-to-turnover ratio. The Lynx finished with 25 assists and nine turnovers, while the Valkyries had 19 assists and 10 turnovers.
A pesky defense helped the Lynx prevent the Valkyries from mounting a fourth-quarter comeback. Minnesota held Golden State scoreless for the first 4:33 of the final quarter until Hayes finally made a 3-pointer to trim the deficit to 75-63.
McBride responded with a 3-pointer on the other end of the court to boost the Lynx’s lead back to 15 points with 4:16 remaining.
The Lynx led 69-60 at the end of the third quarter.
Natisha Hiedeman and Diamond Miller combined for back-to-back baskets for the Lynx in the final minute of the third quarter. Hiedeman made a jump shot to put Minnesota on top by six points, and Miller drained a 3-pointer to boost the advantage to nine.
Minnesota led 41-36 at the half.
Collier made a 3-pointer to give the Lynx a 41-31 lead with 2:48 to go in the first half.
Monique Billings responded with five straight points to cut Golden State’s deficit to five. Billings knocked down a 3-pointer off an assist from Hayes with 2:18 remaining, and Billings followed up with a layup off a feed from Thornton with 1:45 to play.
–Field Level Media
