Mystics Win Hard Fought Battle 84-79 over Lynx

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By Troy Geary

Geary Sports & Entertainment Network

Minneapolis:

The Minnesota Lynx are back at home to face the Washington Mystics Sunday evening in the first of a home-and-home series. The Lynx are coming off an impressive road trip to the West Coast, going 2-0 with a come-from-behind win over Golden State before beating Los Angeles on Wednesday. The Washington Mystics arguably had their biggest win of the season, beating the New York Liberty on Saturday, 86-83. The Mystics (7-7) have a league-high eight rookies on their roster. The Lynx (13-3) have the best record in the league and continue to impress each game as they await the much-anticipated return of star forward Napheesa Collier.

The Lynx came out shooting early in the first quarter, as they opened up the game on an 8-0 run to start the game. Courtney Williams made a corner three-pointer, followed by Kayla McBride with a driving layup. Then Nia Coffey made a three-pointer. But the Mystics fought back. Georgia Amoore, who missed all of last season after tearing her ACL, answered with a layup. Then Sonia Citron scored five straight points, first with a layup, then making a three-pointer from the top of the key to make it 8-7 with seven minutes left in the quarter. Olivia Miles then answered with her signature one-handed layup. Natasha Howard then put back an offensive rebound to make the score 12-7 with five minutes left in the quarter. Rookie Cotie McMahon then made a three-pointer for the Mystics. Howard then, off another offensive rebound, made a layup. Kiki Iriafen then made a pair of free throws and a layup to tie the game at 14. After back-to-back driving layups by Miles and Williams, the Lynx had an 18-14 lead with three minutes left in the quarter. Then Lucy Olsen, who went to nearby Iowa, made a three-pointer for the Mystics. Williams then hit her signature pull-up jumper. Rookie Angela Dugalic, who won a national championship with UCLA alongside teammate Lauren Betts, made two straight baskets to tie the game at 22-22 after the first quarter.

The Lynx defense picked up in the second quarter. After a basket by Dugalic, Lynx forward Teaira McGowan made a layup. Miles then made another driving layup. Shakira Austin then made a pair of free throws for the Mystics. Then the Lynx defense clamped down, and the offense went on an 8-2 run to make it 34-28 with three minutes left until halftime. The Lynx took a 42-35 halftime lead.

Leading scorers for the Lynx were Courtney Williams with 11 points and Natasha Howard with 10 points. Sonia Citron led the Mystics with nine points.

The intensity got kicked up a notch in the third quarter. With six minutes left to play, Mystics forward Cotie McMahon and Lynx forward Natasha Howard got in a tussle, as the replay showed McMahon hooking Howard and spinning her around, then getting into her face. Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve was not happy and received a technical foul for arguing that it should have been a flagrant foul. The officials reviewed the play and called a double foul on Howard and McMahon, and the crowd let the officials have it with boos. That sparked the Mystics to get back into the game, and with five minutes left in the third quarter, they got back within one at 49-48. Olivia Miles then took over. She made a jumper, had a layup, and nailed a three-pointer to lead the Lynx on a 7-2 run. With four minutes left, the score was 56-50. Both teams traded some free throws, and at the end of the third quarter, the score was 60-56.

The Lynx were in a dogfight in the fourth quarter. Mystics guard Sonia Citron opened the fourth quarter with a three-pointer to cut the Lynx lead to 60-59. Miles then answered by making a pair of free throws. Amoore then made a driving layup. Rookie Lauren Betts of the Mystics, whom many fans wanted as the Lynx's top pick over Miles, scored her first points of the game on a layup to give them their first lead of the game, 63-62, with eight minutes left. McBride answered with her first three-pointer of the game to retake the lead for the Lynx. But Washington answered with a three-pointer by McMahon to retake the lead, 66-65. The Lynx then scored back-to-back buckets on makes by Howard and Williams for a 69-66 lead with six minutes left in the game. But the Mystics weren't going to go quietly. Iriafen made a put-back bucket and was fouled. She capped off the three-point play, and we were tied again at 69-69 with five minutes left. McMahon then made one of two free throws to give the Mystics a one-point lead, 70-69, with four minutes left. Miles then answered with a driving layup and was fouled. She made the free throw to give the Lynx a 72-70 lead with three minutes left. Howard then made a layup, and they extended their lead to 74-70. But Washington had an answer. McMahon made her fourth three-pointer of the game, and the score was 74-73 with two minutes left. The Mystics continued to drive to the paint and make their free throws. Iriafen made a pair of free throws to give the Mystics the lead, 75-74, with a minute left. But then the Lynx went cold and had to play the foul game. Amoore made both of her free throws to extend the lead to 80-74. McBride then made a three-pointer to make it 80-77 with 30 seconds left. Iriafen made both of her free throws to make it 82-77 with 20 seconds left. McBride tried to will the Lynx back, cutting the lead to 82-79 with 15 seconds left. Amoore sealed the game, making a pair of free throws with seven seconds left for an 84-79 lead. Courtney Williams' three-pointer at the buzzer went wide, and the Lynx fell 84-79 in a hard-fought game.

Olivia Miles led the Lynx with 22 points, while Natasha Howard had 20 points. Sonia Citron led the Mystics with 21 points, while Kiki Iriafen had 17 points.

Next home game: July 6 vs. Connecticut.

By Troy Geary

Geary Sports & Entertainment Network

Minneapolis

The Minnesota Lynx (10-3) returned home Monday night to battle the expansion Portland Fire (7-8) in a Commissioners Cup game at Target Center. The Lynx had their eight-game winning streak snapped on the road Saturday with a 100-97 loss to the Las Vegas Aces. The Lynx came back from as many as 12 points down to take the lead with under a minute to play. But Chelsea Gray was fouled on a three-point attempt, and she made all three free throws as the Aces escaped with the win. The foul was challenged by Head Coach Cheryl Reeve to no avail. Replays showed minimal contact. In her postgame press conference, Reeve was still upset with the call. The Lynx looked to rebound and start another winning streak, as they have six games in the next 12 days. Portland was coming off an 84-83 win at home vs. the Dallas Wings. Led by former Lynx forward and fan favorite Bridget Carleton, the Fire have been a competitive team and are forming an identity under Head Coach Alex Salama. Salama, a former assistant with the Cleveland Cavaliers, was tapped to lead the expansion Fire. The Lynx still had an outside chance to advance to the Commissioners Cup Final. They needed to win tonight and have Las Vegas lose to Dallas to clinch a spot vs. the New York Liberty.

Just before the start of the game, the Lynx had a video tribute for Bridget Carleton. Carleton, who played in Minnesota from 2019-2025, was selected by Portland in the expansion draft.

The Lynx, trying to rebound from their tough loss to the Aces in Las Vegas Saturday, came out shooting, and the crowd was in the game from the opening tip. Nia Coffey was 3-for-3 from three-point land in the first quarter. Kayla McBride also came out shooting, scoring 10 first-quarter points. Olivia Miles chipped in four points with two great driving layups. Portland was led by Carla Leite with five first-quarter points. After the first quarter, the Lynx had a 35-21 lead.

The Lynx remained in control in the second quarter. Miles started the second quarter with another driving layup. After back-to-back baskets by Megan Gustafson and Emily Engstler for Portland, the Lynx answered with a jump shot by Coffey and a three-pointer by Antonia Delaere, making the score 42-25 with eight minutes to go in the half. Portland cut into the Lynx lead with five quick points of their own. Teja Oblak made a corner three-pointer, and Frieda Buhner added a layup to make the score 42-30 with five minutes remaining in the half. After trading a few baskets, the Lynx closed out the first half on a 13-2 run. Natasha Howard scored nine points during that run, and at halftime, the score was 60-40.

Leading the Lynx in the first half was Nia Coffey with 13 points and Kayla McBride with 12 points. Megan Gustafson led Portland with seven points, and Carla Leite had six points.

The Lynx continued to overwhelm the Fire in the third quarter, and the Lynx went to their bench. Maya Caldwell led the bench with 11 second-half points. Ana Koso also added 11 points. Head Coach Cheryl Reeve has been asking for more out of her bench, and they contributed. After three quarters, it was 85-59 Lynx.

The Lynx wrapped up their 11th win of the season as they cruised to a 107-74 victory. Natasha Howard led the team with 18 points, while Courtney Williams added 15 points. Portland was led by Carla Leite with 10 points, and Frieda Buhner also had 10 points.

Up Next: At home vs. Washington on 6-21.