Napheesa Collier leads Lynx past Angel Reese’s Sky

Napheesa Collier made four 3-pointers and finished with 29 points as the visiting Minnesota Lynx beat the Chicago Sky 91-78 on Monday night.

Former Sky Courtney Williams had 18 points, eight rebounds and seven assists, while Kayla McBride made three 3s and scored 17 for the WNBA-leading Lynx (19-4), who made 12 3s to avenge Saturday’s 87-81 loss at Chicago.

Collier, who entered averaging a league-leading 23.6 points, went 7-of-14 from the field and made all 11 free-throw attempts for Minnesota, which also beat the Sky 80-75 on July 6.

Angel Reese recorded her ninth straight double-double with 22 points and 10 rebounds for the Sky (7-14), who shot 48.3 percent but committed 19 turnovers that led to 24 Lynx points. Ex-Lynx Rachel Banham made three 3s and scored 15 for Chicago, which totaled just 32 second-half points.

Chicago also lost Ariel Atkins, who entered averaging a team-high 14.5 points, to a leg injury suffered just before halftime.

Minnesota trailed by as many as 10 in the second quarter, but closed the period with six consecutive points to trail 46-42. The Lynx then opened the third on a 5-0 run and scored 12 of the first 16 points to lead 56-50.

However, the Sky clawed their way back and trailed 65-63 before Collier drained a 3 just before the third-quarter buzzer.

The Lynx scored eight of the first 10 points to open the final period, with Jessica Shepard notching her first four of the night and Collier hitting two free throws to lead 76-65.

Collier and Williams each had 10 points in the first quarter, where the Lynx went 6-of-11 from 3-point range and led 28-24 entering the second quarter. However, the Sky scored 13 of the first 15 points of the second quarter.

Reese’s basket capped a 7-0 surge that put Chicago ahead 37-30, but the Lynx scored the next six points, including four from Collier, to get within one. The Sky answered with nine consecutive points, highlighted by five from Banham, to lead 46-36.

–Field Level Media