Minnesota Lynx 62 vs. San Antonio Silver Stars 60 – WNBA Recap
Taj McWilliams-Franklin hit the game-winning 18 footer with just one second left on the clock to boost the league-leading Minnesota Lynx to a 62-60 victory over San Antonio Silver Stars on Thursday night at Target Center.
It was Minnesota’s eighth consecutive victory. On the other hand, it was third straight defeat for San Antonio. The Silver Stars are now in a tie with Seattle Storm and Phoenix Mercury for the second position in the Western Conference.
McWilliams-Franklin, a seven-time WNBA All-Star, scored a team-high 18 points and grabbed seven rebounds in the victory. The 6ft-2in veteran forward shot 5 for 10 from the field and 8 for 10 from free throw line. It was the sixth
time in a row that the 40-year-old reached the double figures.
Candice Wiggins came off the bench and scored all of her 15 points on three-pointers. Seimone Augustus added 10 points, three rebounds and two blocks while Rebekkah Brunson grabbed 13 rebounds in the victory.
Sophia Young led the Silver Stars with 18 points and 13 boards. Young shot 6 for 15 from the field and 6 for 9 from free throw line. Becky Hammon punctuated 15 points, grabbed four rebounds, dished out four assists, stole the ball
twice and blocked two shots for San Antonio while Jia Perkins ended with 11 points and four rebounds for the Silver Stars, who have lost four of their previous six games.
San Antonio committed 15 turnovers on the night while the Lynx committed just nine. However, the Silver Stars outscored Minnesota 32-16 in points in the paint.
Young scored nine of her points in the first quarter as San Antonio carried a five-point lead, 15-10, into the second period. The second quarter turned out to be an extremely low scoring affair. The Silver Stars scored just eight
points in the second quarter but limited Minnesota to seven, to take a 23-17 lead into the locker room.
Lynx made a great comeback in the third quarter and outscored San Antonio 26-17, converting their six-point halftime deficit into a three-point lead at 43-40.
Silver Stars struck back though and took a 57-56 lead with 01:47 to go in the fourth quarter. McWilliams-Franklin and Augustus answered with a pair of free throws each to again put Minnesota ahead by 60-57. Perkins however pinned
3 free throws on the ensuing possession to knot the game at 60 with 11 seconds to go.
With the clock running down, the ball found its way to the hands of McWilliams-Franklin, who successfully connected from 18 feet down to seal the victory.
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