It was a physical battle between Connecticut and Minnesota in Game 2 of their semifinal series, but the victory came down to the little things. The Lynx evened the series at 1-1 with a 77-70 victory on Tuesday night.
Minnesota won the defensive battle, got better bench production and found balance as Sun-limited Napheesa Collier.
“It was a collective effort,” coach Cheryl Reeve said. “That’s what we do, and that’s what we saw tonight.”
Defense
The game started ugly, with only 22 combined points in the first quarter. And although there were 125 points on the board in the other three quarters, things didn’t get much better. Minnesota and Connecticut are two of the best defensive teams in the league, but the Lynx had the edge on Tuesday. They held Connecticut to 36.4% shooting and 25% from beyond the arc. That was a big improvement from Game 1, when the Sun made 40.9% of their three-point attempts to secure a 73-70 win.
The match was also messy from the start. The physicality lent itself to an emotional affair in which neither team was afraid of contact or trash talk. That’s something both teams said they expected at this point in the season.
“We had to match their energy,” the Lynx’s Courtney Williams said. “The first game they were chirping and chatting, so we had to give it back to them. That’s just playoff basketball.”
Balance
Collier did a lot of the heavy lifting for Minnesota in the opening round, scoring 38 points in Game 1 and 42 points in Game 2. She also led the Lynx in scoring in the first game against Connecticut with 19 points. But in Game 2 of the semifinals, the Sun limited Collier’s touches, and she didn’t even attempt a shot in the second quarter. She scored just nine points, her season low, on 14 shots.
“Phee did everything else. But for whatever reason she had trouble with some of the shots she got today,” Reeve said. “It’s a difficult game. It is physically demanding. She will feel more and more comfortable.”
Collier managed to impact the game in other ways, with 12 rebounds, 5 assists and 4 blocks, and the rest of the Lynx picked up their scoring efforts.
Williams led with 17 points and Alanna Smith added 15. Smith, who struggled shooting in Game 1 and went 0-for-4 from long range, returned Tuesday. She shot 6-of-8 and shot 3-of-4 from beyond the arc.
Kayla McBride added 11 points and Bridget Carleton had 9. All five Lynx starters made at least one 3-pointer.
Bank
The Lynx won the points battle, defeating the Sun 16-4. But it wasn’t all about scoring, as Minnesota’s second unit also provided energy and defensive intensity.
Myisha Hines-Allen had seven points off the bench, but more importantly, at 6-foot-4 and with a strong frame, she was able to match Connecticut’s toughness inside.
“She’s a physical enforcer, but she’s also a great player,” Smith said of Hines-Allen. “She’s a great passer, she rebounds, she sets really good screens. She does the little things well. You can’t sleep on our couch, and she’s a big reason why.
Cecilia Zandalasini and Natisha Hiedeman also played important minutes off the bench. Zandalasini finished with 5 points, including a 3-pointer that helped ignite the Lynx in the first half, and Hiedeman added four points and two assists.
“We knew our bench would be important,” Reeve said. “A team whose bench shows up and contributes is a big advantage. And each of the three who played tonight contributed in different ways.”
