Minnesota Lynx at Connecticut Sun
· Women's National Basketball Association89 - 101
Surging Lynx close in on top seed in playoffs by beating the Sun 101-89
The Lynx (32-10) moved within one win or Golden State loss from earning home-court advantage throughout the postseason. Minnesota closes with a home-and-home set against Indiana.
A big reason for the Lynx's success this season has been the play of Miles. She broke the WNBA rookie record for points in a season that was held by Caitlin Clark. Miles got her 770th point on a free throw with 9:31 left in the second quarter. Clark finished with 769 points for Indiana in 2024.
The Lynx, who had lost three straight games, jumped out to an 11-2 lead in the first 3:30 as Collier had the game's first four points. Courtney Williams, who starred for the Sun for five seasons, had five points during the opening spurt. Minnesota led 27-12 after the first quarter, when Collier had 10 points.
Collier helped extend the advantage to 45-26 on a layup with 3:44 left in the half before the Sun used a 15-4 spurt to get within eight. Collier had a 3-point play with 25.2 seconds left to restore the double-digit advantage.
The Sun hung around behind hot 3-point shooting. They made 12 of their first 19 from behind the arc and were down only seven points early in the fourth quarter. Connecticut finished 15 for 28 on 3s.
The team honored former coach Mike Thibault before the game, its second-to-last in Connecticut before relocating to Houston next season. He led the franchise from its inception in 2003 until 2012.
It was a fitting game to honor him, given his son, Eric Thibault, is an assistant coach with Minnesota along with Lindsay Whalen. She played in the WNBA Finals in 2004 under Mike Thibault. The Sun had many other former players and coaches in attendance, including Tina Charles, Bria Hartley, Taj McWilliams Franklin and Nicki Collen.
The Sun (10-32) have lost five games in a row. Connecticut, which has been plagued by injuries all season, lost Saniya Rivers to one in the first quarter. She didn't return.
Sun: Visit Mystics on Tuesday.
See AP’s full WNBA coverage here
Regular Season Series
MIN wins series 2-1
Recent Plays
| 4th 0.0 |  |
End of Game | 101 - 89 |
| 4th 0.0 | |
End of the 4th Quarter | 101 - 89 |
| 4th 17.2 |  |
Hailey Van Lith makes 6-foot fade away jump shot | 101 - 89 |
| 4th 30.0 |  |
Aari McDonald makes driving layup | 101 - 87 |
| 4th 36.1 | |
Nell Angloma enters the game for Diamond Miller | 99 - 87 |
Statistics
 MIN |
 CON |
|
|---|---|---|
| 36-72 | FG | 31-59 |
| 50 | Field Goal % | 53 |
| 4-21 | 3PT | 15-28 |
| 19 | Three Point % | 54 |
| 25-27 | FT | 12-19 |
| 93 | Free Throw % | 63 |
| 32 | Rebounds | 27 |
| 10 | Offensive Rebounds | 5 |
| 22 | Defensive Rebounds | 22 |
| 20 | Assists | 22 |
| 12 | Steals | 9 |
| 2 | Blocks | 2 |
| 11 | Turnovers | 17 |
| 0 | Team Turnovers | 3 |
| 11 | Total Turnovers | 20 |
| 0 | Technical Fouls | 1 |
| 0 | Total Technical Fouls | 1 |
| 0 | Flagrant Fouls | 0 |
| 13 | Points Conceded Off Turnovers | 25 |
| 4 | Fast Break Points | 14 |
| 50 | Points in Paint | 32 |
| 19 | Fouls | 23 |
| 20 | Largest Lead | 0 |
| 0 | Lead Changes | 0 |
| 99 | Percent Led | 0 |
Game Information
Location: Uncasville, CT
Attendance: 8,911 · Capacity:
2025-26 Western Conference Standings
| TEAM | W | L | PCT | GB | STRK |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Minnesota |
- | 11 | W1 | 0.75 | 33 |
 Golden State |
1 | 12 | W1 | 0.72727275 | 32 |
 Las Vegas |
2 | 13 | W7 | 0.70454544 | 31 |
 Dallas |
6 | 17 | W1 | 0.6136364 | 27 |
 Portland |
16 | 27 | W1 | 0.38636363 | 17 |
 Los Angeles |
17 | 28 | L2 | 0.36363637 | 16 |
 Phoenix |
17 | 28 | L1 | 0.36363637 | 16 |
 Seattle |
25 | 36 | L5 | 0.18181819 | 8 |
2025-26 Eastern Conference Standings
| TEAM | W | L | PCT | GB | STRK |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Atlanta |
- | 14 | W5 | 0.6818182 | 30 |
 Washington |
2 | 16 | W4 | 0.6363636 | 28 |
 Indiana |
2 | 16 | L1 | 0.6363636 | 28 |
 New York |
4 | 18 | L2 | 0.59090906 | 26 |
 Chicago |
14 | 28 | L1 | 0.36363637 | 16 |
 Toronto |
19 | 33 | L8 | 0.25 | 11 |
 Connecticut |
19 | 33 | W1 | 0.25 | 11 |
WNBA News
'Focused on the Finals': WNBA players tune out anthem talk from Trump, others
Players in the WNBA Finals said they are concentrating on preparing for the upcoming game and not President Donald Trump's criticism of them and others in the league for leaving the court prior to the national anthem being played.
Fever fire GM, president steps down: What's next for Clark and Indiana?
Indiana's president stepped down and the Fever GM was fired Friday. What's next for a team with title aspirations?
Fever fire GM Amber Cox; Stephanie White expected to remain coach, sources say
The Fever fired general manager Amber Cox on Friday, hours after the team announced that president Kelly Krauskopf stepped down. As of now, the expectation is that Stephanie White will remain Indiana's coach, sources told ESPN's Alexa Philippou.
Valkyries seek 'fire' as crucial Game 4 looms in WNBA Finals
After losing their last two games by a combined 40 points, the Valkyries vowed to "show more fight" heading into Game 4 of the WNBA Finals against the Dream.
Dream's Allisha Gray (hand) 'feeling fine, but I am not 100%'
Atlanta Dream guard Allisha Gray says she is "feeling fine, but I am not 100%" as she continues to deal with a left hand injury amid the WNBA Finals.