MINNEAPOLIS— Marina Mabrey scored 20 points and Alyssa Thomas added 17 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists as the Connecticut Sun defeated the Minnesota Lynx 73-70 on Sunday night in Game 1 of their semifinal series.
DiJonai Carrington had 13 points and DeWanna Bonner had 10 points and 11 boards for the Sun.
Napheesa Collierwho averaged 40 points in the first round of the play-offsled Minnesota with 19 points and nine rebounds. Bridget Carleton scored 17 and Kayla McBride added 12.
Game 2 of the best-of-5 series will be played on Tuesday in Minneapolis.
In their first round win over Phoenix, the Lynx shot 50% from the floor and 40% from beyond the arc, ranking in the top 100 points in both games.
It was a different story against the Sun, who had the stingiest defense in the league this season. Minnesota shot just 41.5% from the field and made 5 of 20 three-point attempts.
Mabrey opened the fourth with her sixth three-pointer of the night, and Carrington scored on a putback to tie the score at 62, all with seven minutes to play. Bonner hit a corner 3 and added a transition layup as the Sun crawled ahead by three.
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After the Lynx were held without a basket for more than three minutes, Collier’s driving layup cut the Sun’s lead to 71-70 with 33.9 seconds left.
However, Thomas hit a 15-foot jumper with 11.7 seconds left and after a disjointed final possession, Collier’s desperation 3-pointer fell short.
The Lynx trailed by four entering the third quarter, when McBride hit a 3-pointer and a long jumper on back-to-back possessions to erase the deficit. Tied at 57 in the final minute of the quarter, Myisha Hines-Allen scored on a baseline drive, then Williams, after a stop at the other end, drained a 3 to give Minnesota a 62-57 lead after three quarters deliver.
Connecticut used a 9-0 run late in the first quarter to jump out to a 23-14 lead. Carrington sparked the rally by converting a turnover into a breakaway layup and hitting a corner 3 the next time down the field.
Minnesota rebounded in the second quarter, when Williams’ steal and fast-break assist to McBride sparked a 15-0 spurt that gave the Lynx a 35-29 lead. Carleton hit a pair of threes and Alanna Smith converted a three-point play in that four-minute span that Mabrey snapped with a three from the wing.
Mabrey’s bucket sparked a 13-2 run that ended with another Mabrey 3 as the Sun took a 42-38 lead into halftime.
