Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve knew a key — maybe the key — to victory Friday was limiting its opponent’s success in the paint.
Yes, Washington had stretches of controlling action near the rim, but Minnesota’s defense stood tall late leading to a 94-84 win.
“We wanted to make sure that we had the appropriate physical and mental toughness that it takes to play these guys,” Reeve said. “We had some success and other times where we didn’t find success, but we hung in there and beat a good team on their floor. That’s a really quality win for us.”
The Lynx (31-7) have won six straight and 16 of 17. This was the last of four straight road games and the only one not in the Pacific Time Zone.
It was apropos that Natasha Howard scored the last of her 21 points on a layup with 43 seconds left. After a rough opening quarter, the 13-year veteran was Minnesota’s most important player of the night.
Howard had no points or rebounds in almost five minutes of the first quarter yet came back strong to make 10 of 12 shots, grab seven rebounds, dish out five assists and block three shots.
Natasha Howard of the Lynx rebounds the ball against Shakira Austin of the Washington Mystics during Friday’s game in Washington, DC. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images)
“She did a great job of getting refocused and she was just so good” Reeve said. “Those posts are not easy to play against and Tashy both defensively and offensively I thought just had a great game.”
“Just being patient taking my time,” Howard said of her offense. “… My teammates put me in good position to be able to score. I’ve been working on just making sure I follow through and not leaving anything short.”
Averaging 42.6 points in the paint per game, Washington finished with 40, four more than Minnesota.
However, just 24 of the Mystics’ total came over the final three quarters.
Averaging 42.6 points in the paint per game, Washington finished with 40, four more than Minnesota. However, just 24 of the Mystics’ total came over the final three quarters.
“They are strong as hell,” said Olivia Miles, who led the Lynx with 24 points. “I can’t say it enough how incredible Tash and Nia (Coffey) were in just dealing with that physicality.
“… (The Mystics) just go and hoop and don’t care who’s in front of them. You’re the best, the worst, it doesn’t matter, they go and they exert their physicality and their dominance on you. It’s something I respect, but it’s also something really challenging to get through and what makes them hard to pay against.”
Washington (21-15) tuned the ball over 14 times, which led to 21 Minnesota points.
Kayla McBride of the Lynx shoots the ball defended by Cotie McMahon (23) and Shakira Austin (0) of the Washington Mystics during Friday’s game in Washington, DC. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images)
Two of those turnovers happened on back-to-back possessions late in the game and Washington down by four.
Miles scored on a layup after a Coffey steal, and after a Washington timeout, Howard stole a pass and Kayla McBride drained a 3-pointer at the other end to put Minnesota up 89-80. McBride later banked home a 25-foot triple.
McBride had a quartet of 3-pointers as part of her 18-point night, and Courtney Williams’ line was 13 points, eight assists and six rebounds. Coffey has three steals in her return to the starting lineup.
Napheesa Collier did not play for rest purposes. It is her first missed game since returning to the Lynx lineup July 22 after a pair of offseason ankle surgeries.
Miles played the final 5:13 with five fouls.
“You just got to take a leap of faith and it’s in her hands,” Reeve said. “We felt like we need her to manage the game down the stretch and she had to demonstrate to be able to stay in the game. … It paid off for us in this game.”