A pair of critical late game blunders by Minnesota forces them to drop their first game of the season. They also allowed Seattle to shoot 56.5% from the field including 50 paint points.
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Game Story
The Minnesota Lynx entered Climate Pledge Arena with a perfect 9-0 regular season record which included a 3-0 Commissioner’s Cup mark. Meanwhile, the Seattle Storm sat at just 5-4 on the season, but had a chance to usurp the Lynx atop the Western Conference Commissioner’s Cup standings with their 2-1 record. They had a packed house roaring from the tip to try as they looked to take Minnesota’s 0 away.
As such, they came out of the blocks on fire.
Storm Head Coach Noelle Quinn had her team pushing the ball in transition every opportunity possible. This energized her team and even activated Erica Wheeler, a career 33% three point shooter, to knock in two early treys (More on Wheeler later). The reigning Player of the Month (and week), Napheesa Collier, looked primed for another huge game, countering with eight early points of her own as well.
Despite an early nine-point lead by Seattle, Minnesota was able to hang close thanks to sharp perimeter marksmanship. Even second year forward, Alissa Pili, would chip in a triple to pull the Lynx back ahead 33-32 early in the second quarter. This opened up the interior for them to score on a number of easy pick-and-rolls with the bigs rolled hard early and often.
Both teams headed into the halftime break shooting over 50% from the field. The first 10 minutes of the game went by so quickly that we saw 15 lead changes and five ties in less than 45 minutes of actual time. A blinding pace featuring just seven combined free throw attempts and limited stoppages.
It looked as though Minnesota was going constrict their opponent with their suffocating defense in the second half, as they have done for well over a year now. They opened the second half on a 11-1 run, building a 11-point lead culminated off a Skyler Diggins technical foul for chewing out an official.
The home team would not give up though.
Photo by Alika Jenner/Getty Images
The Storm could have folded, but credit to them for responding with a 13-2 run of their own. They tied the game up at 62 despite their starting center, Ezi Magbegor picking up her fourth personal foul. The second overall pick of the 2025 draft, Dominique Malonga, scored six of her career-high tying eight points in that stretch. She also forced Collier into a pair of airballs during her impressive stretch.
They continued to bridge their run well into the final quarter. Seattle marched ahead with another 7-1 run to grow their advantage all the way up to nine. However, the Lynx found their pulse before it got too far out of hand. The see-saw battle continued as McBride and Collier peppered in paint score after paint score, ripping off their a 10-1 response to pull them within 79-80.
It all culminated in a McBride buzzer-beating layup to take a 81-80 lead.
Photo by Alika Jenner/Getty Images
Or so we thought.
Before the officials could review the shot, Skyler Diggins cashed in her second triple of the game. The ensuing review would wipe away the previous McBride layup, with the Lynx now suddenly staring down a four-point deficit with 2:03 remaining. They were truly on the ropes after Magbegor chipped in another easy layup, pushing their lead back up to 85-79 with 1:49 left.
Minnesota would have one more chance.
A quick Natisha Hiedeman layup out of SLOB action was followed up by a wild sequence where Alanna Smith would get a three point attempt blocked. The ball would find itself into the hands of McBride, as she swished her fifth triple to cut the Storm lead down to 84-85 with 1:07 still to go.
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McBuckets makes it a 1 point game again
Remember the Wheeler three point makes I mentioned earlier?
The 34-year-old vet looked down the Minnesota zone defense out of a timeout, passed the ball around, got it back, and buried a step-in trey. The game was still in the balance, but it felt lost after Smith bricked an uncontested layup on the other end.
Alanna Smith misses one she normally makes at the rim and that forces the Lynx to foul
Minnesota still had the ball down just six points, but Bridget Carleton would turn it over off a tipped inbounds pass to seal things. Just like that the quest to a 44-0 regular season record was over. Giving up 56.5% shooting from your opponent just isn’t going to get it done, especially when you give them five more field goal attempts than you courtesy of an eight turnover second half. Add to that that over half their points came in the paint.
A disappointing end of a streak against a veteran team that was playing with a sense of desperation.
Quick Hits
- Though Phee had yet another strong showing with 25 points, 9 rebounds, 5 assists, and 3 blocks, she was an uncharacteristic 9 of 23 from the field. The Storm’s front court of Ezi Magbegor, Nneka Ogwumike, and the aforementioned Dominque Malonga really made it tough for her.
- Courtney Williams had her worst game of the season, scoring just 3 points while going 0 for 1 from the field in only 22 minutes of play. She didn’t look quite right out there which could be due to a supposedly minor leg injury she suffered against Dallas on Sunday.
- It was good to see Bridget Carleton get her shooting form back, making three of her four attempts from deep.
- The Storm bench only scored 10 points, not that the Lynx 12 were much better, but they leaned heavily on their starters. All five of their starters scored in double digits, though it was Gabby Williams that felt like the biggest thorn in Minnesota’s side. She finished with 12 points, 8 rebounds, 7 assists, and 4 steals.
- We did get some fireworks at the end of the game. Wheeler, who had been talking trash all game, was probably the last player the Lynx wanted to see score a seemingly meaningless basket with the game in hand. That said, it was a Commissioner’s Cup game where the point differential may matter and with the Storm beating the Lynx, they’re officially back in play for a potential top seed if they manage some large deficit wins.
Lynx lose their first game of the year to the Storm, Kayla McBride was upset at Erica Wheeler near the end and tossed the ball at her but nothing further came out of it
Highlights
Box Score
Lead Tracker
Up Next
Minnesota returns back home after the quick PNW trip. They’ll host the Los Angeles Sparks (4-7) on Saturday, June 14th in a surprise early tip at 12:00 PM CT. The Lynx defeated them by a score of 89-75 for their second game of the season and will look to get back to their winning ways.