After seven straight home losses to the Connecticut Sun, including a series-opening loss on Sunday, the Minnesota Lynx found their winning formula. And something else.
The Lynx won convincingly on Tuesday, defeating the Sun 77-70 to even their WNBA semifinal series at 1-1 as the series heads to Connecticut.
In a matchup between the two best defensive teams in the WNBA, it was Minnesota that shut down the contest. The Lynx limited the Sun to 36.4% shooting from the field with 12 turnovers. No player was more valuable in that effort than WNBA Defensive Player of the Year Napheesa Collier, who finished the game with nine points, 12 rebounds, five assists, four blocks and one steal.
On the offensive end, it was a group effort led by 17 points from Courtney Williams. Every Lynx player who logged a minute scored at least four points. Alyssa Thomas was once again the star for the Sun, with 18 points, 10 rebounds, seven assists and two blocks.
The Lynx win was probably good news for the WNBA, which saw every first-round series end in a sweep. The Sun’s victory in Game 1 was the first road victory of the entire postseason, but the league was probably more concerned about another possible sweep, especially after the New York Liberty defeated the Las Vegas Aces hours earlier to take a 2-0.
The game did not start with a good rhythm. The two teams combined to miss their first 14 field goals, with the first coming on a Courtney Williams layup 3 minutes, 38 seconds into the game. The dam did not break from there either, since at the end of the first quarter the score was only 12-10 Lynx.
Instead, the Lynx steadily opened their lead, going from two up at the start of the second quarter to four up in the middle and six up at the end. They finally got the run they needed at halftime, scoring the first seven points of the third quarter to take a double-digit lead.
The last quarter was not entirely calm. The Sun cut the lead to single digits for much of the second half of the frame, which would have qualified as exciting if some plays had ended differently. Chants of “Our House” rained down as the Lynx’s home losing streak against the Sun was finally snapped.
The Lynx and Sun will play Game 3 on Friday at Connecticut (7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN2).