Phoenix Mercury at Minnesota Lynx
· Women's National Basketball AssociationFowles scores 18, Lynx use big run to beat Mercury 81-66
Minnesota (15-2), off to the best start in franchise history, beat the Mercury 88-71 in Phoenix on Friday night.
Jia Perkins scored a season-high 13 points, Rebekkah Brunson added 11 and Plenette Pierson and Renee Montgomery had 10 points apiece for the Lynx.
Fowles converted a 3-point play and then made a layup to give Minnesota the lead for good and spark the decisive run that made it 67-51 when Renee Montgomery hit two free throws with 50 seconds left in the third quarter. The Lynx led by double figures the rest of the way.
Phoenix (11-8) shot 58.3 percent from the field and hit 10 of 12 free-throw attempts in the first half but made just 10 of 36 (27.8 percent) shots from the field after the break.
Rookie Yvonne Turner scored a career high 18 points for the Mercury. Brittney Griner and Diana Taurasi, who combine to average more than 40 points per game, did not play for Phoenix. Griner was injured in the fourth quarter of Friday's loss and is expected to miss 3-4 weeks. Taurasi didn't travel with the team in order to rest.
Regular Season Series
MIN wins series 4-0
Recent Plays
| 4th 0.0 |  |
End of Game | 66 - 81 |
| 4th 0.0 | |
End of the 4th Quarter | 66 - 81 |
| 4th 11.0 |  |
Alexis Prince makes 23-foot three point jumper (Leilani Mitchell assists) | 66 - 81 |
| 4th 21.0 | |
Emma Cannon defensive rebound | 63 - 81 |
| 4th 22.0 |  |
Yvonne Turner blocks Alexis Jones 's 23-foot three point jumper | 63 - 81 |
Statistics
 PHX |
 MIN |
|
|---|---|---|
| 24-60 | FG | 26-62 |
| 40 | Field Goal % | 42 |
| 5-20 | 3PT | 5-20 |
| 25 | Three Point % | 25 |
| 13-19 | FT | 24-26 |
| 68 | Free Throw % | 92 |
| 34 | Rebounds | 31 |
| 8 | Offensive Rebounds | 6 |
| 26 | Defensive Rebounds | 25 |
| 12 | Assists | 12 |
| 4 | Steals | 8 |
| 2 | Blocks | 2 |
| 15 | Turnovers | 11 |
| 1 | Team Turnovers | 1 |
| 16 | Total Turnovers | 12 |
| 1 | Technical Fouls | 0 |
| 1 | Total Technical Fouls | 0 |
| 0 | Flagrant Fouls | 0 |
| 11 | Points Conceded Off Turnovers | 10 |
| 6 | Fast Break Points | 10 |
| 24 | Points in Paint | 30 |
| 21 | Fouls | 18 |
| 6 | Largest Lead | 20 |
Game Information
Location: Saint Paul, MN
Attendance: 10,022 · Capacity:
2025-26 Western Conference Standings
| TEAM | W | L | PCT | GB | STRK |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Minnesota |
- | 7 | W4 | 0.8055556 | 29 |
 Golden State |
3.5 | 9 | W5 | 0.72727275 | 24 |
 Las Vegas |
5 | 12 | L1 | 0.6666667 | 24 |
 Dallas |
8.5 | 15 | L1 | 0.5714286 | 20 |
 Portland |
13.5 | 20 | W2 | 0.42857143 | 15 |
 Phoenix |
16 | 23 | L1 | 0.3611111 | 13 |
 Los Angeles |
16 | 22 | L4 | 0.3529412 | 12 |
 Seattle |
22.5 | 30 | L2 | 0.1891892 | 7 |
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Diana Taurasi's No. 3 raised to the rafters in Phoenix
The Mercury honored franchise legend Diana Taurasi by retiring her No. 3.