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SAN JOSE, Calif. — As the Minnesota Lynx huddled before the fourth quarter of Game 2 of their first-round WNBA playoff series against the Golden State Valkyries, coach Cheryl Reeve had a clear message for her group.
“Coach said, ‘There is nothing I can draw for you that’s going to get you an easy bucket. You have to go out there and just play,'” Napheesa Collier said.
Trailing by 14, the top-seeded Lynx faced a tall task as they looked to end this series in a sweep. Since the 2006 season, when the WNBA switched from halves to quarters, Minnesota was 0-76 when trailing by that margin entering the fourth quarter in the regular season and playoffs.
That changed Wednesday night. The Lynx did just enough to secure a 75-74 win, sending them back to the semifinals for the second year in a row.
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“I am just so proud of our effort,” Collier said. “I think it shows the grit and the resilience that this team has and what we’ve been talking about for two years. I was really proud of us today.”
She continued: “[It’s] the desperation that we played with knowing we were down by a lot and only had 10 minutes to get back in it.”
Reeve looked at the clock a little differently than Collier.
“What always strikes you is whether you are up 20 [or down], it’s a long game with a lot of possessions,” Reeve said. “I asked them not to quit. I told them to get after it, and they believed.”
Minnesota outscored Golden State 26-11 in the fourth quarter — a period that saw the Lynx execute at an entirely different level than the first three quarters.
On defense, the Lynx smothered the Valkyries, contesting 14 of their 16 field goal attempts and forcing them to go 3-for-14 on those shots. Minnesota also held Golden State to 4-of-15 shooting in its half-court offense and 3-of-10 in clutch time, including a possible game-winning jumper from Cecilia Zandalasini.
On offense, Minnesota capitalized on its open looks, scoring 19 points on field goals. The Lynx went 4-for-4 for 10 points in clutch time.
Kayla McBride, who finished with 18 points, made a scoop shot for a one-point Minnesota lead with 2:48 to go after DiJonai Carrington connected on a 3-pointer from the left corner with 3:18 remaining to pull the Lynx within 70-69.
Collier made a go-ahead 18-footer with 1:24 left on her way to finishing with 24 points (14 in the second half) on 10-for-16 shooting. With 38 seconds to go, Courtney Williams hit a tough contested midrange jump shot to put the Lynx up by three.
“I blacked out at that point,” Collier joked.
Heading into Game 2, the Lynx were determined not to be the fourth team to miss sweeping their first-round series. The Atlanta Dream and Las Vegas Aces failed to close their series Tuesday night, and the New York Liberty suffered a blowout loss to extend their matchup with the Phoenix Mercury to a Game 3.
“The games that we’ve watched demonstrate that level of desperation for teams in elimination games,” Reeve said. “It was nice to be reminded of that. The hard-working team that Golden State is, the way that they play, [we were] going to have to get creative.”
Minnesota didn’t face the kind of desperation that comes with being on the brink of elimination, but it still wanted to avoid giving the Valkyries a chance to extend the series.
And now the Lynx can rest for a few days until they know who their semifinal opponent will be.
“We get to have those days off, recover, take care of our bodies and also just set the tone for how we want to play in these playoffs,” Collier said.
The Lynx await the winner of the Mercury-Liberty series, which will be decided Friday night (9 p.m. ET, ESPN). The semifinals will tip off Sunday.
