Napheesa Collier recorded 27 points, 11 rebounds and four blocked shots and the Minnesota Lynx clinched a spot in the WNBA Finals with a solid 88-77 victory over the Connecticut Sun in the decisive fifth game of a semifinal series on Tuesday at Minneapolis.
Courtney Williams added 24 points, seven assists and five rebounds for the second-seeded Lynx, who led for most of the victory that wrapped up a best-of-five series. Kayla McBride had 19 points for Minnesota.
DiJonai Carrington scored all 17 of her points in the second half and grabbed 12 rebounds for the third-seeded Sun. Brionna Jones added 16 points and 10 rebounds, DeWanna Bonner had 14 points and eight boards and Tyasha Harris scored 12 points for Connecticut.
Minnesota will visit the top-seeded New York Liberty in Game 1 of the WNBA Finals on Thursday.
Collier, the runner-up for regular-season MVP honors, is the first player in WNBA history to have at least 25 points and 10 rebounds in three straight playoff games.
Asked what she is most proud of, Collier replied, “Just getting (to the Finals). Just doing whatever it takes to win the game. Connecticut is a great team. Credit to them. Just went out there to rely on my team and doing whatever is needed to get the win.”
Minnesota shot 49.3 percent from the field, including a 10-of-26 showing (38.5 percent) from 3-point range.
The Sun connected on 38.5 percent of their shots overall and were 8-for-23 (34.8 percent) from behind the arc.
Sun coach Stephanie White said, “Hats off to Minnesota. They’ve got a great team, they’ve been really good the second half of the season. They came out and knocked us in the mouth. I’m proud of our team for continuing to fight and continuing to battle.”
Connecticut made a late charge on two 3-pointers by Bonner to cut its deficit to 78-65 with 3:40 remaining. McBride responded with a key trey one minute later to help hold off the comeback bid.
Connecticut trailed by 21 late in the first half before scoring the final two points of the second quarter and the first seven of the third to move within 53-41 with 7:37 left.
Minnesota answered with a 12-0 burst. Alanna Smith connected on a 3-pointer and Williams followed with a runner. Collier then scored seven straight points on two conventional baskets and a trey to push the lead to 65-41 with 2:21 left in the third quarter.
The Sun scored the next seven points to trail 65-48 entering the final stanza.
Collier’s three-point play pushed the Lynx’s lead back to 20 with 8:13 left in the contest.
“You’re not going to stop a great player like Phee,” White said. “You just have to try to make things difficult. She did a great job of adjusting to the way she was being played.”
In the first half, Williams scored 15 points on 6-of-6 shooting, McBride added 14 points and Collier had 13 points and seven rebounds as Minnesota held a 53-34 lead at the break.
McBride drained two treys in 24 seconds to cap a 23-7 run and give the Lynx an 11-point lead with 2:42 left in the first quarter. Minnesota took a 31-18 advantage into the second.
Minnesota heads to the Finals having beaten New York in three of the teams’ four meetings this season, including a victory in the Commissioner’s Cup final.
“I think regular season doesn’t mean anything,” Collier said. “They’re an amazing team and won the league. But we’re 2, we’re right behind them. I think it is going to be a great series and great basketball with two amazing teams.”
–Field Level Media
