St. Louisan Napheesa Collier scored a game-high 24 points to lead the Minnesota Lynx to a 75-74 victory over the host Golden State Valkyries to advance to the semifinals of the WNBA playoffs.
The Lynx rallied from a 17-point deficit in the second half to win the best of three series 2-0. It was Collier who scored the go-ahead basket on a baseline jumper to give the Lynx a 73-72 lead with one minute and 24 seconds left in the game.
The former Incarnate Word Academy All-American also finished with seven rebounds and four assists. She was also 10 of 16 from the field. She scored 14 of her 24 points in the second half as the Lynx survived a spirited challenge from Golden State and its raucous capacity home crowd of 18,543. The Valkyries were the first expansion team in the history of the WNBA to qualify for the playoffs.
Minnesota was the first team to advance to the WNBA semifinals. The Lynx will play the winner of the Phoenix Mercury-New York Liberty series. They will play a third and deciding game on Friday night in Phoenix.
The other two playoff series that feature the Las Vegas Aces vs. Seattle Storm and the Atlanta Dream vs the Indiana Fever are also tied at 1-1.
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