Napheesa Collier scored 29 points and the Minnesota Lynx held off a fourth-quarter surge to defeat the Seattle Storm 102-93 in the home opener at Target Center on Friday night.
The Lynx were in control for the majority of the game, running up their lead to 16 points after a 3-point play by Kayla McBride gave them a 36-20 lead with 5:53 left in the second quarter. The Storm cut the lead to 44-37 at halftime and Minnesota held a 78-67 lead with 3:22 left in regulation, but the Storm ripped off an 11-0 run and Jewell Loyd made three free throws with 15.1 seconds left to send the game to overtime.
The first overtime went back and forth between the two teams with Collier putting the Lynx up 87-86 with a layup before Skylar Diggins-Smith answered with a layup on the other end to put Seattle in front 88-87 with 18.2 seconds to play.
After Collier missed a jumper, she gained possession on a jump ball before she was fouled by Nneka Ogwumike with 2.1 seconds left. While Collier made the first free throw, she missed the second and the game went to a second overtime tied at 88.
Collier and McBride opened with back-to-back 3-pointers to give Minnesota some breathing room and although a 3-point play by Diggins-Smith made it a 94-91 game with 3:29 remaining, the Lynx went on an 8-2 run the rest of the way to earn the win.
double OT thriller. 🍿
Phee – 29 PTS / 9 REB / 6 STL / 5 AST
KMac – 19 PTS / 4 REB / 4 AST
'Lan – 16 PTS / 6 BLK / 5 REB pic.twitter.com/NGfD5Bv3OS— Minnesota Lynx (@minnesotalynx) May 18, 2024
Collier grabbed nine rebounds and five assists to go with her game-high 29 points while McBride had 19 points, four rebounds and four assists. 10 different players scored for the Lynx including Smith (16 points, five rebounds) and Courtney Williams (10 points, six rebounds, six assists), who each scored in double figures.
Ogwumike had 24 points and 11 rebounds for the Storm. Diggins-Smith had 22 points and five assists and Loyd had 20 points, six assists and six rebounds.
The Lynx improved to 2-0 with the win and will travel to the Connecticut Sun for a 6 p.m. tip-off on Thursday.
