Connecticut’s Alyssa Thomas tries to get past Minnesota’s Napheesa Collier in Sunday’s WNBA playoff game in Uncasville.
UNCASVILLE, Conn., Sept. 17, 2023 – Before Sunday’s WNBA playoff game Minnesota Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve was clear about what her team needed to do to remain alive in their best-of-3 WNBA quarterfinal series with the Connecticut Sun, which rolled to a 30-point win in the series opener on Wednesday night.
“We have to play above ourselves from an effort and execution standpoint,” she said. “We can’t be ordinary. (Napheesa Collier) is going to have to put the team on her back. We have to reach for our very best and in some cases, above that.”
Reeves and the Lynx got it.
Collier, the fifth-year pro from UConn, had 26 points and a game-high 13 rebounds while Kayla McBride, the 10th-year pro from Notre Dame, had a game-high 28 points, including six three-point shots as the Lynx evened the series with an 82-75 win over No. 3 seed Connecticut at the Mohegan Sun Arena.
The decisive game three will be Wednesday night in Minneapolis at 8 p.m. on ESPN with the winner advancing to the WNBA semifinals against either New York or Washington.
It is a similar situation to a year ago when the Sun lost to Dallas in game two at the Mohegan Sun Arena after taking game one. The Sun beat Dallas in game three to advance to the semifinals for the fourth year in a row.
The No. 6 Lynx led by as many as 16 points in the second half and the Sun cut the lead to two but couldn’t sink the equalizer. MVP candidate Alyssa Thomas and veteran DeWanna Bonner tried to push the Sun over the hump but just couldn’t do it. Thomas and Bonner combined for 50 of Connecticut’s 75 points.
Thomas had a team-high 26 points, eight rebounds and two blocked shots. Bonner had 24 points and sank 6-of-10 shots from three-point range. Rebecca Allen had 10 points and a game-high nine rebounds but no one else scored more than six points.
A hobbling Tiffany Hayes, who had six points, played with a sore left knee that saw her limping at times.
Minnesota’s Napheesa Collier (24) plays defense against Connecticut’s Alyssa Thomas in Sunday’s WNBA playoff game in Uncasville. The Lynx won 82-75.
“They outworked us. They got on the boards. They got transition points on us and we can’t let that happen,” Thomas said. “We would have a great possession on defense and not care of the rebound (at the other end of the floor). It takes a team out there with everyone being locked in and ready to play.”
“They have two vets (Collier and McBride) that carried them in a big way,” Sun coach Stephanie White said. “We expected them to bounce back but we couldn’t match their energy and intensity play for play today.”
Minnesota, who started the season 0-6, led by five at halftime and had a three-point lead, 51-48 midway through the third quarter before taking off on a 14-1 run with nine points from McBride, including seven straight at one point to expand the lead to 16 points.
Connecticut rallied with an 11-0 run in the final 2:25 of the third quarter to cut the lead to five, 65-60. Thomas scored baskets in the lane and dished the ball off to Bonner, who got a bloody nose after being hit with an errant elbow from Minnesota’s Rachel Banham battling for a loose ball.
Bonner scored in the lane with 8:28 remaining in the game to cut the lead to two but Minnesota’s Bridgit Carelton hit a three-point shot to give the Lynx some breathing room.
Four times, the Sun cut the lead to three but Minnesota always had an answer – Collier driving to the basket and scoring over Olivia Nelson-Ododa and McBride sinking a three-point shot.
Bonner cut the lead to three points, 76-73, after sinking a three-point shot with 2:32 remaining. But Collier responded at the other end. She missed her initial shot but grabbed her own rebound and popped it in.
“That’s been us all season,” Thomas said. “We’ve had some really great moments and then moments where we don’t get the best shot up. It’s part of the game. Lucky for us we still have another opportunity. We know it will be tough but we have to come out ready to play.”
A year ago, the Sun won game three in Dallas to win their best-of-3 quarterfinal series, 2-1 and won the final two games of their semifinal series with Chicago, including game five on the road, to win that series, 3-2 and advance to the WNBA finals.
Connecticut’s Stephanie White named WNBA Coach of the Year
Minnesota 82, Connecticut 75
At Uncasville, Conn.
Minnesota (82) Miller 2-8 1-1 5, Collier 12-24 2-3 26, Juhasz 2-3 2-4 6, McBride 10-18 2-2 28, Mitchell 2-3 0-0 5, Carleton 2-4 0-0 6, Banham 2-6 0-0 4, Milic 1-3 0-0 2. Totals 33-69 7-10 82
Connecticut (75) Allen 4-9 1-1 10, Bonner 8-20 2-2 24, Thomas 10-18 6-7 26, Hayes 2-4 2-2 6, Hiedeman 0-2 0-0 0, Carrington 2-4 1-2 5, Harris 1-6 0-0 2, Nelson-Ododa 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 28-64 12-14 75
Three-point goals: Minnesota 9-24 (Miller 0-2, Collier 0-3, McBride 6-11, Mitchell 1-1m Carleton 2-3, Banham 0-4); Connecticut 7-20 (Allen 1-6, Bonner 6-10, Hayes 0-1, Hiedeman 0-1, Harris 0-2). Att. 6,673
WNBA quarterfinals (best-of-3)
Wednesday, Sept. 13
Connecticut 90, Minnesota 60
Sunday, Sept. 17
Minnesota 82, Connecticut 75, series tied 1-1
Wednesday, Sept. 20
Connecticut at Minnesota, 8 p.m. ESPN
