Lynx 83, Sky 66: Dominating Third-Quarter Lead the Lynx to Victory

Napheesa Collier scored 20 points as the Lynx clinch the best record in the Western Conference.

With less than a week remaining in the season, the Minnesota Lynx took on the Chicago Sky. With a win, the Lynx would clinch the top spot in the Western Conference and keep pace ahead of the Connecticut Sun for the number two seed for the WNBA playoffs.

The Sky were without their Rookie of the Year candidate Angel Reese who suffered a fractured wrist and will miss the remainder of the season.

The Lynx would get off to a slow start in the first quarter, making only seven of their twenty first-quarter shots including only a single made three-pointers on eight attempts.

On the other end, Minnesota would have a hard time containing Chennedy Carter and Kamilla Cardoso as the pair would combine for 16 points in the first quarter, matching the entire Lynx team and giving the Sky a 22-16 advantage after the first frame.

Midway through the second, Kayla McBride would continue her stellar season making her 100th three-pointer for the season, far surpassing her previous season-high of 83.

That basket would kickstart a Lynx scoring burst as Minnesota would go on an 11-0 run nothing to put themselves up by five. The run was capped off by a steal and a pretty behind-the-back dribble by Courtney Williams leading to the transition layup.

The Lynx would go up by as many as nine before a pair of Sky free throws and a made layup by Cardoso with just four seconds left in the quarter cut the Minnesota lead to 40-35 heading into the halftime break.

Napheesa Collier led the way for the Lynx at the half with ten points and three rebounds. Carter and Cardoso led the Sky in scoring with 21 combined points.

The Lynx would start the second half strong Collier making a three from the top of the arc and Williams putting in her patented mid-range jump shot from the free-throw line, forcing a Chicago timeout.

Williams would continue to dominate as she would dish an assist to Alanna Smith before making two more mid-range shots to give the Lynx their second 11-0 run of the game, pushing the Minnesota lead to 16.

With the offense rolling, the Lynx defense would begin to dominate as well, limiting the Sky to just nine points in the entire third quarter. Minnesota would win the third quarter by 15 points, giving them a 64-44 lead heading into the fourth quarter.

The Sky wouldn’t go down without a fight, scoring the first 11 points of the quarter to cut the Lynx lead down to nine. The Lynx would finally score their first points of the fourth quarter after almost four and a half minutes on a McBride free throw.

Williams would put the dagger in the game as she was able to again get to her spot on the court and hit the pull-up jumper to put the Lynx up 14.

The Lynx would go on to win the game 83-66, clinching the best record in the Western Conference.

Collier led the Lynx in scoring with 20 points, adding eight rebounds along the way. Willaims had a double-double with 14 points and 10 assists. Smith also had a double-double with 11 points and 12 rebounds.

Carter and Cardoso led the way for Chicago, scoring 17 and 16 points respectively. Rachel Banham, the former Lynx and Golden Gopher, scored 10 points off the bench for the Sky.

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Up Next

The Lynx now head out on the road for their final two road games of the regular season. The first comes against the team with the best record in the WNBA, the New York Liberty on Sunday, September 15. The game begins at 2:00 PM CT with fans being able to watch the game on Bally Sports North.

After that, they face off against the Sun in a matchup that will likely determine the second seed for the WNBA playoffs. The Lynx finish the season at Target Center against the Los Angeles Sparks.