Through daunting part of WNBA schedule, Minnesota Lynx just keep on winning vs. New York Liberty

The Lynx led 21-12 after a quarter and built the lead to 13 in the second. The Liberty missed their first nine three-point attempts, compounding that with unforced as well as forced turnovers. But New York went on an 8-0 run to end the second quarter and came out of halftime breathing fire.

The Liberty scored the first 10 points of the third quarter as the Lynx went 0-for-7 from the field during the run. They weren’t matching New York’s intensity and had Reeve seething over their defensive effort.

It looked like it would be the game in which they could have used Collier the most. And Reeve also noticed some heads hanging during the moments when they were struggling.

Williams was a cheat code the entire afternoon, firing 26 points and getting four of her five assists in the fourth quarter when it was time to get her teammates involved.

“Courtney is really good about sensing when the team needs her,” Reeve said. “And she was able to create and find ways to score. Not just her own offense. You’re bringing two [defenders] to her. Maybe you didn’t mean to bring two to her and, boom, as soon as that step you take that’s wrong, she’s getting a post player for a layup.”