Lynx Hold Off Tempo, Push Win Streak To Eight

Detroit Lakes, MN (KDLM) – The Minnesota Lynx have won eight in a row after holding off the Toronto Tempo 100-93 Tuesday night at Target Center.

Rookie guard Olivia Miles led all scorers with 24 points, making nine of her 17 shots, including four from three-point range. She added eight assists and six rebounds.

Kayla McBride scored 18 points with four three-pointers and three steals. Minnesota was 14-for-25 from beyond the arc as a team, good for 56%, and shot 51.4% overall while piling up 26 assists.

Napheesa Collier scored 15 points with six rebounds, three assists and two steals in her first home game of the season. Collier sat out the first 10 weeks of the year after undergoing surgery on her right ankle in January and her left ankle in March. She made her season debut July 22nd on the road against Seattle, finishing that game with 24 points and 10 rebounds.

Natasha Howard added 13 points, six rebounds and four assists for the Lynx, and reserve guard Antonia Delaere scored 12 points on four of five shooting from three-point range. Minnesota’s bench outscored Toronto’s 25 to 11.

The Tempo led 28-25 after the opening quarter before the Lynx took over in the second, outscoring Toronto 28-15 to build a 53-43 halftime lead. Minnesota pushed the margin as high as 17 points and carried an 81-68 advantage into the fourth quarter. Toronto closed the game on a 25-19 run but never got closer than five.

Marina Mabrey led the Tempo with 25 points, eight rebounds and six assists. Maria Conde recorded a double-double with 20 points and 10 rebounds, and Laura Juskaite added 18 points. Julie Allemand handed out seven assists.

Turnovers were the difference. Toronto gave the ball away 17 times, and the Lynx turned those miscues into 16 points. Minnesota committed 11 turnovers.

The win moves the Lynx to 23-6, the best record in the WNBA and three games clear of Golden State and Las Vegas atop the Western Conference. Toronto falls to 10-17 and sits fifth in the Eastern Conference. The expansion Tempo have now lost four straight and eight of their last nine.

The two teams meet again Thursday, July 30th, in Toronto with tip-off set for 7:00 p.m. Central. Minnesota then returns home to face the Indiana Fever on Sunday, August 2nd, at 12:00 p.m.