A low-scoring affair was expected when the two top defensive teams in the WNBA met Monday at Target Center.
Golden State did its thing, holding the cold-shooting Lynx to a season low in points and ending Minnesota’s six-game winning streak with an 80-66 win.
“We weren’t special in any way. Just one of those games that we really weren’t good at anything,” Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve said. “We weren’t terrible, but not good enough to beat a good team.”
Scoring 25 points below its season average, Minnesota was led by Natasha Howard’s 13-point, seven-rebound performance. Kayla McBride added 12 points, but half of those came on free throws. She was 2 for 11 from the field.
When the teams met last Wednesday in the Bay Area, Minnesota scored a then-season low for points but won 77-66. However, it was the second-fewest points allowed by the Lynx this season.
Golden State was the aggressor Monday in front of 16,001 fans.
“We didn’t really dictate on the defensive end how we did in the last game we played them,” Howard said.
Reeve noted it was one of the season’s lows for deflections.
Minnesota made just 35.6% of their shots, 11 for 29 on 2-point tries and 10 for 30 from outside the arc. They also turned the ball over 18 times, which led to 21 Golden State points.
The Lynx scored a mere three points off nine Valkyries’ turnovers.
“They have real active hands and protect the paint like we do. They wanted it more than we did,” Maya Caldwell said. “We didn’t make that adjustment of cleaning up passes, meeting the ball, trying to get to the open spots. We made our mistakes and they capitalized.”
Cecilia Zandalasini led five Valkyries in double-figures with 18 points that included a pair of treys and a jumper in a game-sealing 14-1 run midway through the fourth quarter that built a 19-point advantage.
With a win, Minnesota (31-8) would have wrapped up home-court advantage throughout the postseason, but the Lynx still control their own destiny. They have a four-game lead over the Valkyries (26-11) with five games left in the regular season.
Starting in place of the injured Courtney Williams, Caldwell finished with nine points on a trio of triples; Napheesa Collier also had just nine points but added seven rebounds.
Caldwell said Golden State played more zone defense than previous games against Minnesota. “It wasn’t anything we hadn’t seen before,” she said. “We just didn’t make adjustments that we were supposed to.”
Williams — averaging 14.4 points, 5.1 rebounds and 4.3 assists — is day to day with a mid-foot sprain that occurred late in Friday’s win at Washington. The 11-year veteran missed her first game since joining Minnesota in 2024.
Olivia Miles finished with more turnovers (four) than shots made (three), finishing with eight points and five assists.
Still, Reeve said Miles’ performance can serve a purpose.
“We need games like this so that there’s learning that happens. There’s disappointment maybe that she’s feeling. She needs that. We need that,” the coach said. “So, that’s the kind of stuff that makes us a better team. And I’m quite confident that the next time that we’re in a hard situation, what we went through tonight will be really valuable to her and to our team.”
The Lynx next play Sunday in Atlanta then are off until Sept. 18 for the FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup. Postseason action begins Sept. 27.