SEATTLE (AP) — Kayla McBride drained six 3-pointers and scored 33 points, rookie Olivia Miles produced a near-triple-double with 32 points, eight rebounds and eight assists, and the Minnesota Lynx defeated the Seattle Storm 105-102 on Monday night for their sixth consecutive victory.
The Lynx guard trio of McBride, Miles and Courtney Williams accounted for 30 of Minnesota's 37 field goals and went a perfect 18-of-18 from the free-throw line. Williams contributed 21 points, while veteran forward Natasha Howard grabbed 12 rebounds and recorded three steals to anchor the defensive effort.
Minnesota (21-6) sits atop the Western Conference with the league's best record, riding a six-game winning streak built on balanced scoring and lockdown defense in critical moments.
Seattle (6-22) fought hard behind Flau'jae Johnson's 26 points and five 3-pointers. Zia Cooke added 18 points off the bench and Natisha Hiedeman posted a double-double with 12 points and 10 assists.
The decisive sequence came in the closing seconds. Howard poked the ball away from Seattle on their inbound pass under pressure, corralled the loose ball and found McBride, who calmly sank two free throws to push the lead to 103-100. Williams extended the margin with two more free throws with 4 seconds left. Seattle quickly advanced the ball to Johnson, who got a clean look from beyond the arc, but her three-pointer rimmed out at the buzzer.
Miles fell one point shy of her career high, set on July 13 against Phoenix.
The two teams will meet again Wednesday in Seattle for the second leg of their back-to-back series.
Sources
- https://apnews.com/article/lynx-storm-score-b16fc051901d0f84aa3ef4132436223f
