Minnesota Lynx forward Bridget Carleton releases her 34-foot game winning short that gave Minnesota the two-point lead with 3.4 seconds left in Tuesday’s game at Mohegan Sun Arena. Photo by James C. Garman/Sportspage Magazine
Minnesota Lynx forward Bridget Carleton hit a monstrous 34-foot three-point shot with 3.4 seconds remaining to lift the Lynx past the Connecticut Sun 78-76 in front of an announced crowd of 8,174 at Mohegan Sun Arena on Tuesday.
The visiting Lynx jumped out to a quick 9-2 lead with a three-pointer by forward Bridget Carleton plus three baskets from forward Napheesa Collier. Sun forward Alyssa Thomas added a layup for the home team.
Guard Tyasha Harris got the rally going for Connecticut a three-pointer, which was followed by a steal and fast break layup by guard DiJonai Carrington. The score was now 9-7 in favor of the Lynx with 6:46 left in the opening frame.
Connecticut center Brionna Jones drove in for a layup, which was blocked by Collier. Jones then saw that Collier was not protecting the ball, reaching in and took the ball back and scored a layup after the steal. The score was 11-9 in favor of Minnesota with 5:39 remaining in the first quarter, but that play set the tone for the remainder of the contest. It was now a grudge match among two evenly matched teams that met each other in the first round of the playoffs a year earlier and battled each other in the standings for the second and third seeds all season.
The Sun took the lead with 2:13 left in the quarter when Jones scored on a put back layup on a miss by guard Marina Mabrey to make the score 16-15. Connecticut extended their lead to five with layups from Carrington and forward DeWanna Bonner, but Minnesota came storming back with a run of their own. The quarter ended when Lynx guard Kayla McBride hit a three-pointer as time expired to tie the game 22-22. The teams combined for six steals and four blocks in the first quarter.
Minnesota Lynx guard Kayla McBride drives the lane for an open layup during Tuesday’s game against the Connecticut Sun at Mohegan Sun Arena. Photo by James C. Garman/Sportspage Magazine
After Carleton sank two free throws to begin the second quarter, Minnesota forward Myisha Hines-Allen and Thomas exchanged baskets in the early minutes of the quarter as if they were playing a game of one-on-one in street ball. Hines-Allen scored on a short jumper then Thomas snuck in with a layup. Collier shot a jump shot and Thomas answered with a layup, which was answered by one from Hines-Allen. After a miss by Lynx guard Natisha Hiedeman, Hines-Allen grabbed the rebound and made the put back layup. It was 34-31 in favor of the Lynx halfway through the second quarter.
McBride sank four free-throws while Collier and center Alanna Smith scored on layups to extend Minnesota’s lead to 42-37 at halftime.
The Lynx faced the challenge of how to extend their lead over an aggressive Sun defense in third quarter. It wasn’t an easy thing to do. McBride opened the scoring with a three-pointer, but that was matched by two free throws by Carrington and a three-pointer from Harris to keep the differential to three points.
Smith made a layup and Collier added a trey to extend the Minnesota lead to eight points, 50-42. The teams traded baskets until Mabrey scored on a wide open layup with 2:47 left in the quarter to make the score 57-50 in favor of the Lynx.
Minnesota then went on a 5-0 run with back-to-back midrange jump shots from guard Courtney Williams and a free throw from Hines-Allen after getting fouled by Jones, to give Minnesota a 12-point lead, their largest of the game. Harris hit a three-pointer to cut the Connecticut deficit to nine. Minnesota led 62-53 when the third quarter came to a close.
The fourth quarter started with more basket exchanges. Neither side could gain ground on the other until Bonner made a layup and then a three-pointer to make the score 69-67 in favor of the Lynx with 2:54 remaining in the game.
Minnesota Lynx forward Bridget Carleton tries to block a shot by Connecticut Sun guard DiJonai Carrington during Tuesday’s game at Mohegan Sun Arena. Moments later Carleton was assessed a Flagrant 1 foul as she collided with Carrington on the play. Photo by James C. Garman/Sportspage Magazine
Thirty seconds later, Carrington scored on a layup but was fouled by Carleton. After further review by the officials, the play was upgraded to a Flagrant 1. Carrington made the free shot giving the Sun the 70-69 lead.
Williams answered with a layup for Minnesota. Thomas tipped in a Mabrey miss for Connecticut. Collier made a layup. It was 73-72 in favor of Minnesota with less than a minute to play.
Thomas connected on a jump shot to put the Sun up 74-73 with 22.9 seconds on the clock. Collier responded with a fadeaway jump shot with 11.4 second left. Three seconds later, Bonner made a layup to put Connecticut up by one.
Then Carleton drained a three-pointer with merely 3.4 seconds left to go to give Minnesota a two point lead.
The Sun had one chance at redemption and Bonner threw it away. Literally. She threw it out of bounds for Connecticut’s 16th turnover of the game.
Connecticut still had a foul to give so Carrington committed a transition take foul with 2.2 seconds to stop the clock. However, the inbounds pass went to McBride who had no defender around to foul her. She ran out the clock and Minnesota won 78-76.
The win gave the Lynx their 30th win of the season and secured them the No. 2 seed in the 2024 playoffs. The New York Liberty had clinched the No. 1 seed earlier in the day.
Connecticut Sun forward Alyssa Thomas attempts a shot against Minnesota Lynx center Alanna Smith during Tuesday’s game at Mohegan Sun Arena. Photo by James C. Garman/Sportspage Magazine
Minnesota went 30-for-64 (46.9 percent) from the field; 6-for-14 (42.9 percent) from three-point range; and 12-for-13 (92.3 percent) from the free throw line. They committed 15 turnovers leading to 19 Connecticut points.
“I thought that [when] we came out at halftime, we were locked in on what we were doing. I think that we got separation. Twelve was the biggest,” said Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve. “Just unfortunately our offense left us in the fourth quarter – whether it was getting good shots and not making them, or the self-inflicted stuff where we fueled them somewhat with our turnovers, and they really got going”
The Sun went 30-for-66 (45.5 percent) from the field; 7-for-20 (35.0 percent) from three-point range; and 9-for-11 (81.8 percent) from the charity stripe. They gave up 16 points on 16 turnovers.
“That was a tough one. I felt like in the fourth quarter our defensive energy and intensity was really good. We did a great job at getting stops. We made some plays down the stretch. They just made one more play,” said Sun head coach Stephanie White. “heck of a shot, certainly, by Carleton.”
“They’re [Minnesota] a tough team because they can score at all give positions the way they spread the floor. We had some inconsistencies throughout the second and third quarters that hurt us. But I’m proud of our team’s effort in the fourth quarter to get back in the ballgame and put us in position to win. We just couldn’t finish it out and they made a heck of a play,” White added.
Connecticut dominated Minnesota 46-28 in points-in-the-paint; 12-9 in second chance points; and 11-5 in fast break points. There were three ties and 10 lead changes.
Minnesota Lynx forwards Bridget Carleton and Napheesa Collier celebrate at half court following Carleton’s game-winning 34-foot shot during Tuesday night’s game at Mohegan Sun Arena. Photo by James C. Garman/Sportspage Magazine
“What you think of is these are good teams that we’re playing against, right? This is the No. 2 and No. 3 team,” said Reeve. “What you expect is that back and forth. You don’t expect when a team is down by 12 at home that they’re going to stop playing.”
Napheesa Collier led Minnesota with 25 points. Kayla McBride added 15 points and Bridget Carleton pitched in for 13 points including 3-for-4 from three-point range. Courtney Williams paced the Lynx with 12 assists, and McBride led Minnesota in rebounding with seven boards.
“A part of me feels like it’s how sports is. There’s so much joy and it’s so exciting. It was a really deep shot. It was really fun,” said Collier recalling Carleton’s game-winning shot. “It was stressful. I think we had four game winners between the two sides in the last 14 seconds, so I was just really happy she made that. I was then looking at the clock to see how much time we had to play defense.”
The Connecticut Sun was led by 18 points from Alyssa Thomas. DiJonai Carrington added 15 points; Marina Mabrey added 13 including going 3-for-8 from three-point range; and Brionna Jones was good for 10 points. Thomas led the Sun with 10 assists. Thomas and Jones led all rebounders with eight rebounds each.
“Honestly, we should have made some adjustments early in the game. We made an adjustment in the fourth [quarter] with six minutes left that really changed the game. We saw some things that were beneficial for us,” said Thomas. “We always go back and forth with them. They’re a well-oiled machine. There’s a lot to take from this.”
Minnesota (30-9) has now clinched the No. 2 seed in the playoffs and will finish the season on their home court at Target Center on Thursday night at 7 p.m. CT against the Los Angeles Sparks (7-32). The Sun (27-12) will also conclude their regular season at Mohegan Sun Arena on Thursday night against the Chicago Sky (13-26) at 6 p.m. CT. The Connecticut-Chicago game will determine whether the Sun or the Las Vegas Aces will clinch the No. 3 seed.
