Minnesota Lynx forward Napheesa Collier and Connecticut Sun Alyssa Thomas battle for position in Game 1 of the WNBA Semifinals at Target Center. Photo by Abe Booker III/Sportspage Magazine
The Minnesota Lynx and Connecticut Sun have battled to a draw so far in this best-of-five WNBA Semifinals series. Each team has picked up a road win and won a game at home. Here is a recap of the action from the first four games.
Game 1 – Target Center, Minneapolis – Sept. 29
Connecticut Sun 73, Minnesota Lynx 70
Connecticut Sun guard Marina Mabrey scored 20 points including six three-pointers, and forward Alyssa Thomas added 17 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists to lift the visiting Connecticut Sun to a 73-70 win over the Lynx in front of an announced crowd of 8,506 at Target Center.
The Sun jumped out to a 23-16 lead in the opening quarter, which ended on a 9-2 Connecticut run, but the Lynx rattled off a 15-0 run in the second quarter to take a slim lead. The Sun answered with an 8-0 run and the Sun led 42-38 at halftime.
The teams exchanged baskets and leads several times in the third quarter. With 5:36 left in the period, Mabrey blocked a layup by Lynx forward Bridget Carleton. On the inbounds play, she was assessed a technical foul for an “awy from the play foul” as Mabrey made contact before the ball was inbounded. The ensuing momentum shift put the same in Minnesota’s favor and they were able to take the lead late into the quarter. Minnesota led 62-57 at the end of the third quarter.
Connecticut battled back in the first half of the fourth quarter and was able to take the lead on a layup by guard DiJonai Carrington with 5:14 left in regulation put the Sun up 67-66. Thomas and Lynx forward Napheesa Collier exchanged baskets in the last minute of play. The Sun led by three points when Collier threw up a hasty three-point shot to try to tie the game, but the buzzer beater missed giving the Sun the 1-0 series edge.
Collier scored 19 points, Bridget Carleton added 17 and guard Kayla McBride pitched in for 12 points for the Lynx.
“All season long it’s been a physical series. Every game has come down to the wire in the fourth quarter and we expected nothing less,” Thomas said. “We’re two of the top defensive teams for a reason.”
Connecticut Sun forward DeWanna Bonner boxes out Minnesota Lynx center Alanna Smith during Game 1 of the WNBA Semifinals at Target Center. Photo by Abe Booker III/Sportspage Magazine.
Game 2 – Target Center, Minneapolis – Oct. 1
Minnesota Lynx 77, Connecticut Sun 70
The Minnesota Lynx used 17 points from guard Courtney Williams and 15 points from center Alanna Smith to take Game 2 to tie the series 1-1.
The game started slow as neither team could make a basket. They combined for 0-for-6 shooting when Thomas went to the line for two free throws, and then persisted to combine for 0=8 shooting until Williams scored on a driving layup with 6:22 left in the opening frame. Yet both teams recovered sufficiently enough to make the score 12-10 in favor of Minnesota at the end of the first quarter.
Connecticut led briefly in the second quarter after a three-pointer by Mabrey gave them a 13-12 advantage, but Minnesota went on an 8-2 run to give them a five-point lead. When Lynx forward Myisha Hines-Allen made a jump shot buzzer beater, it gave the home team the 36-30 lead at the half.
The home team jumped out to a 6-0 run to begin the third quarter, but Williams jumped out to a personal 9-2 run later in the quarter to put Minnesota up 56-42. However, Connecticut went on a 7-2 run and finished with a buzzer beater by Thomas, though the Lynx held on to a 58-49 lead after three quarters.
The Lynx turned up the notch and showed what home court advantage looks like. The Lynx pulled ahead 68-56 on a layup by Smith with 6:08 left in the game. Despite a 12-4 Connecticut run, Minnesota seemed to be one step ahead of the Sun, and then cruised to a convincing 77-60 win in the series second game.
Connecticut was led by 18 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists by Alyssa Thomas. Forward DeWonna Bonner added 17 points for the Sun.
“We weren’t happy with how we approached the first game. I think we played okay, enough to only lose by 3. We knew that we had to take it to another level and we had to have each other’s backs,” said Smith.
Minnesota Lynx guard Courtney Williams drives past
Game 3 – Mohegan Sun Arena, Uncasville, Conn. – Oct. 4.
Minnesota Lynx 90, Connecticut Sun 81
Unlike Game 2, which started slow, Game 3 started with several ties and lead changes before Minnesota was able to come out of the opening on a 9-2 run to take a 19-12 lead after a three-pointer from forward Cecilia Zandalasini with 2:01 remaining in the opening quarter. Minnesota led 23-16 at the end of the opening frame.
The Lynx dominated throughout the game, building up a lead that was as many as 14 points when center Alanna Smith made a free throw after getting fouled by Sun forward Olivia Nelson-Ododa with 1:56 left in the half and the visiting team held a 46-32 lead.
The Sun tried rallying back late in the 4th quarter, but the closest they could come was the final score 90-81.
Minnesota was led by 26 points from Napheesa Collier, while Connecticut center Brionna Jones paced her team with 21.
“Tough one for us. They do what they wanted to do on the offensive end of the floor,” Connecticut head coach Stephanie White said. “We didn’t do a good enough job getting us prepared to play today. We got outplayed, out-executed and outcoached.”
Game 4 – Mohegan Sun Arena, Uncasville, Conn. – Oct. 6.
Connecticut Sun 92, Minnesota Lynx 82
The Connecticut Sun, playing in front of their home crowd, knew they had to come out playing stellar basketball if they were going to stave off elimination in this best-of-five series of the WNBA Semifinals against the Minnesota Lynx.
At first it appeared as if the Lynx were not going to let them, as the Lynx built up an early seven points lead and was up 50-43 at halftime.
The Sun battled back to make it a 61-61 draw in the third quarter and then went on a 7-2 run to end the third quarter ahead 68-63. Minnesota attempted a comeback in the fourth quarter, but it fell short. In the end, Connecticut evened the series at 2-2 with the 92-82 victory, forcing a Game 5 back at Target Center.
“This is how they felt after the last game,” Lynx hea coach Cheryl Reeve said. “This is how we feel after this game. That makes for a great Game 5.”
The decisive game will be played at Target Center tonight at 7 p.m. CT. The winner will face the No. 1 seed New York Liberty in the best-of-five WNBA Finals beginning on Thursday in New York.
