WNBA semifinals: Sun stifle Lynx late, surge past Minnesota for 1-0 series lead

The Connecticut Sun swept the Minnesota Lynx in two games during the regular season.

With the stakes ramped up in Minnesota on Sunday, they beat them again in a 73-70 thriller to take a 1-0 series lead in the WNBA semifinals. Alyssa Thomas fell one assist short of a triple-double as Connecticut’s defense flustered the league’s best 3-point shooting team from the regular season.

The Sun struck the first blow late in the first quarter, then rallied from a Lynx surge in the third quarter to secure the win on the strength of their defense.

After a back-and-forth opening few minutes, the Sun finished the first quarter with a 9-2 run to take a 21-14 lead into the second. The Lynx closed the gap to 42-38 by halftime and rode a 24-15 third-quarter advantage to a 62-57 lead heading into the game’s final stanza. By then, the game had already produced seven ties and 10 lead changes.

And the Sun weren’t done. They held the Lynx scoreless for the first 4:21 of the fourth quarter and retook the lead at 65-64. From there, the game resumed as a tense battle with 13 total lead changes before the Sun took the lead for good at 69-68. Connecticut’s defense continued to throttle the Minnesota offense down the stretch while holding the Lynx to eight fourth-quarter points.

The game fittingly ended with Napheesa Collier missing a game-tying 3-point attempt at the buzzer as DeWanna Bonner blanketed her on the left wing.

Four Sun players scored in double figures in a balanced offensive effort led by Marina Mabrey. Mabrey tallied 20 points, five rebounds and three assists while shooting 6 of 11 from 3-point distance.

Thomas posted 17 points, 10 rebounds, nine assists and three steals on an 8-of-12 shooting effort from the floor. She iced the game with a catch-and-shoot jumper from the free-throw line over the outstretched hands of Alanna Smith with 11.7 seconds remaining.

That bucket set Minnesota up for one last chance to tie the game. The Lynx called timeout and set up an inbounds play in the front court. But they didn’t get a good look against the Suns’ swarming defense. Collier’s final 3-point heave hit the backboard well off the mark just before the final buzzer sounded.

The 3-point miss was Minnesota’s 15th on a 5-of-20 (25%) effort from long-distance. Bridget Carleton (3 of 6 from 3, 17 points) was the only Lynx player to hit more than one 3-point attempt. Collier, Kayla McBride and Smith combined to shoot 1 of 11 from beyond the arc. Minnesota led the league in 3-point shooting during the regular season while connecting at a 38% clip.

Collier led the Lynx with 19 points, nine rebounds, four assists, two steals and one block on the same day she was named the WNBA’s Defensive Player of the Year. The Lynx were strong on defense while holding the Sun to 41.3% shooting from the field. But Connecticut found success from long distance where Minnesota didn’t in a 9-of-22 (40.9%) effort from beyond the arc led by Mabrey’s six 3s.

The Lynx and Sun will resume the best-of-five series with Game 2 in Minnesota on Tuesday. The winner of the series will advance to face the winner between the Las Vegas Aces and New York Liberty in the WNBA Finals.