Current:Home > BackMinnesota Lynx cruise to Game 3 win vs. Connecticut Sun, close in on WNBA Finals-InfoLens
Minnesota Lynx cruise to Game 3 win vs. Connecticut Sun, close in on WNBA Finals
View Date:2024-12-23 14:28:31
Napheesa Collier collected 26 points and 11 rebounds as the Minnesota Lynx cruised to a 90-81 victory over the Connecticut Sun on Friday night in Uncasville, Connecticut, in Game 3 of a WNBA semifinal series.
With the win, Minnesota grabbed a 2-1 lead in the best-of-five set and will have a chance to punch its ticket to the WNBA Finals when the teams meet again on Sunday in Uncasville for Game 4.
Collier went 11-for-19 from the field and was one of the many beneficiaries of a fluid Lynx offense that dished out 22 assists. Courtney Williams chipped in 16 points and eight of those helpers, while Kayla McBride finished with 13 points and Bridget Carleton scored 12.
All five Connecticut starters scored in double figures, with Brionna Jones (21 points) leading the way. DeWanna Bonner contributed 16 points, and Marina Mabrey netted 14 but hit just 1 of 11 triples. Triple-double threat Alyssa Thomas supplied 13 points, nine rebounds and seven assists.
Minnesota outshot the Sun 57.4 percent to 41.1 percent overall.
Mabrey finally got going in the third quarter for Connecticut, scoring seven points in the opening 4:16 of the frame. Her three-point play trimmed the Sun's deficit to 54-47, but she immediately gave those points back, fouling Carleton on a 3-point attempt.
Carleton's perfect trip to the free-throw line made it a 10-point game, and Minnesota led by at least eight for the rest of the third before taking a 68-54 cushion into the fourth.
Bonner converted an and-one with 1:20 left in the game to trim the hosts' deficit to 86-79. However, Williams and Carleton quickly answered with jumpers to put the contest out of reach.
Collier knocked down 4 of 5 shots in the first quarter, posting eight points to lift Minnesota to a 23-16 lead after 10 minutes of action.
Connecticut soon fell into a nine-point hole but used a 6-0 spurt to pull within 26-23 with 7:37 left in the second quarter.
The rest of the first half belonged to the Lynx, though. They went up by as many as 14 at 46-32, when Alanna Smith split a pair of free throws with 1:56 to go to polish off a game-changing 20-9 run. Minnesota settled for a 48-36 advantage at the break.
veryGood! (98)
Related
- Sam LaPorta injury update: Lions TE injures shoulder, 'might miss' Week 11
- Many women deal with painful sex, bladder issues. There's a fix, but most have no idea.
- Now a Roe advocate, woman raped by stepfather as a child tells her story in Harris campaign ad
- Longshoremen at key US ports threatening to strike over automation and pay
- Patricia Heaton criticizes media, 'extremists' she says 'fear-mongered' in 2024 election
- Sean Diddy Combs Denied $50 Million Bond Proposal to Get Out of Jail After Sex Trafficking Arrest
- Bachelorette: Jenn Tran's Ex Devin Strader Was Arrested, Had Restraining Order From Ex-Girlfriend in Past
- Mississippi program aims to connect jailed people to mental health services
- Man gets a life sentence in the shotgun death of a New Mexico police officer
- Mother and grandparents indicted on murder charge in death of emaciated West Virginia girl
Ranking
- The 15 quickest pickup trucks MotorTrend has ever tested
- Sean “Diddy” Combs Pleads Not Guilty in Sex Trafficking Case After Arrest
- Kim Kardashian and Kanye West's 4 Kids Look So Grown Up in Back-to-School Photos
- Heather Gay Reveals RHOSLC Alum's Surprising Connection to Secret Lives of Mormon Wives Star
- When do new 'Yellowstone' episodes come out? Here's the Season 5, Part 2 episode schedule
- Now a Roe advocate, woman raped by stepfather as a child tells her story in Harris campaign ad
- 'Heartbreaking': Mass. police recruit dies after getting knocked out in training exercise
- Diddy is accused of sex 'freak off' parties, violence, abuse. What happened to 'transparency'?
Recommendation
-
RHOBH's Erika Jayne Reveals Which Team She's on Amid Kyle Richards, Dorit Kemsley Feud
-
Kate Middleton Reaches New Milestone After Completing Chemotherapy for Cancer
-
Travis County sues top Texas officials, accusing them of violating National Voter Registration Act
-
False reports of explosives found in a car near a Trump rally spread online
-
Texas’ 90,000 DACA recipients can sign up for Affordable Care Act coverage — for now
-
Bachelorette: Jenn Tran's Ex Devin Strader Was Arrested, Had Restraining Order From Ex-Girlfriend in Past
-
Fed rate cuts are coming. But will they be big or small? It's a gamble
-
Michael Hill and April Brown given expanded MLB roles following the death of Billy Bean