Lynx 101, Sparks 78: A Dominating Performance From Start to Finish

The Lynx Responded to their lone loss of the season with a dominating performance including 32 points from Napheesa Collier

Time to start a new winning streak.

After losing their first game of the season against the Seattle Storm on Wednesday, dropping their record to 9-1, the Minnesota Lynx took on the Los Angeles Sparks on Saturday afternoon in a battle for the WNBA’s Commissioner’s Cup.

Before the game, the Lynx honored four-time WNBA champion Semeion Augustus, who entered the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame back in October.

The Lynx took control of the game right from the opening tip, going up by double-digits midway through the first quarter. Napheesa Collier, the reigning WNBA Player of the Month, put up 16 points, five rebounds, and four assists in the opening frame.

Minnesota continued its strong play, overpowering LA on both sides of the ball en route to a 19-point lead at the end of the first quarter.

The domination continued in the second quarter for the Lynx as they outscored the Sparks 24-11, going up 58-26 heading into halftime.

Collier had another scoring burst in the second, putting up another ten points, giving her a total of 26 in the first half, surpassing her season average of 25.4 points per game. Courtney Williams also scored 15 points, with the two combining to shoot 16-19 from the field.

The Sparks were able to stop the bleeding to a certain extent, but the second half was largely a formality due to the Lynx’s large lead. The lowest the lead got was 17 points late in the fourth quarter as the Lynx responded to their lone loss of the season with a resounding 101-78 win.

Collier was sensational as she scored 32 points on 13-16 shooting, including three 3-pointers, eight rebounds, six assists, two blocks, and two steals. Williams finished with 17 points on 6-10 shooting, with three of the makes from beyond the arc. Kelsey Plum led the Sparks in scoring with 20 points.

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Key Takeaway

John Froschauer-Imagn Images

An impressive bounce back

The Lynx won their first nine games of the 2025 season before finally being defeated by the Storm on Wednesday. The Lynx felt like they didn’t play their best game, causing them to lose their undefeated record.

Lynx Head Coach Cheryl Reeve spoke after the game about what allowed the team to be so successful early in the game today.

“The Seattle game, I could tell yesterday they were pretty committed to a bounce back. We set the tone defensively and we did it pretty well through the first half”

The player who set the tone best was Phee, who was outstanding on both sides of the ball right from the beginning of the game. Reeve was asked if this was the best she’d seen Collier play, and she gave a classic Cheryl response.

“No. Absolutely not. Nope. No. No. I think obviously she played well, I don’t mean to say she didn’t. I thought our movement, our pick and rolls reads, she just started the way we needed her to.”

Williams was asked about Collier’s recent stretch of MVP-like play and had a different response compared to that of her coach.

“Lord have mercy, she a problem…. sometimes seeing what she do out there I’m like damn, I’m apart of this, like I’m really seeing this girl go crazy.”

An undefeated season was always unbelievably unlikely. No team is ever going to be able to play well in every single game of a long season. You can often tell the heart of a championship-level team by how they respond to adversity and poor performances.

In the game today, the Lynx showed what kind of team they are. They don’t have many lapses in play, but when they do, they immediately show why the poor performances are the outlier.

The Lynx have one of the greatest coaches in the history of the game, the MVP front runner, and an outstanding surrounding cast. The biggest obstacle for this team reaching its goals during the regular season is complacency, and they showed today that it is not going to be an issue.

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Up Next

The Lynx play their final Commissioner’s Cup game on Tuesday against the Las Vegas Aces at Target Center. The game begins at 7:00 PM CT, airing on FanDuel Sports Network. To advance to the Commissioner’s Cup Final, the Lynx need a victory over the Aces, along with Seattle losing one of their next two games.