– by Adesina O. Koiki
A Lot of Sports Talk editor-in-chief
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UNCASVILLE, CONNECTICUT — All Napheesa Collier needed to break out of one of her rare slumps during the 2024 season was a trip to her home away from home.
Collier led a shooting extravaganza with 26 points and 11 rebounds as the No. 2 seed Minnesota Lynx cruised to a 90-81 road victory over the Connecticut Sun to take a 2-1 series lead in the best-of-five WNBA semifinals series. Courtney Williams added 16 points and eight assists while Kayla McBride (13) and Bridget Carleton (12) also scored in double figures.
The former national champion while starring at the University of Connecticut, Collier struggled in the series’ first two games, averaging just 14 points while shooting 33 percent (10-of-30) from the field. It took just over 10 minutes of playing tonight to eclipse her nine-point performance in Game 2 as her layup at the 7:10 mark of the second quarter, which gave Collier her 10th point, was the start of a 20-9 run for the Lynx as they built a 14-point lead (46-32) late in the first half.
“Everyone has an off night and I try to contribute in other ways to help the team,” Collier said.
That Minnesota lead never dropped below seven for the rest of the contest, and that was particularly due to the Lynx’s hot shooting against the best defensive team in the regular season in Connecticut. Minnesota shot 55 percent from the field in the second half, with Collier and Bridget Carleton each scoring 10 points. In a sequence befitting a player who was an All-WNBA First Team selection and MVP runner-up after the regular season, Collier hit a step-back jumper in the lane after two DeWanna Bonner free throws to give Minnesota a 10-point lead before stealing an entry pass from Marina Mabrey on the ensuing defensive possession. The following possession on offense saw Collier find Alanna Smith at the top of the key for a dagger three-pointer that gave the Lynx an 86-73 lead with 2:11 remaining.
Collier became the first Lynx player to post multiple playoff games of 25 points and 10 rebounds in a career.
“It’s crunch time. I knew I had to be aggressive, especially in one-on-one coverage,” Collier said. “Then, you know, just being the same on the other side, we really had to be aggressive. They were playing with desperation at the end.”
All five starters scored in double figures for the Sun, led by Brionna Jones’ 21 points, but Connecticut’s season-long struggles from beyond the arc cropped up again at the worst time as it went just 3-for-20 from beyond the arc. Marina Mabrey missed her first nine three-point attempts before finishing 1-for-11 from distance.
Tough one for us. They [did] what they wanted to do on the offensive end of the floor,” Sun coach Stephanie White said. “We didn’t do a good enough job getting us prepared to play today. We got outplayed, outexecuted and outcoached.”
*Editor’s note: Above the byline is the photo gallery from Friday evening’s game, with photos taken by ALOST staff photographer Erica Denhoff. After clicking on a photo to enlarge the picture, press the left and right arrow buttons on either side of the caption to scroll through the rest of the pictures that appear on the first page. Also, click on the numbers and/or arrow appearing immediately below the picture grid to load the next set of photos. There are 45 pictures in total.
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