MINNEAPOLIS – The Minnesota Lynx outscored the Chicago Sky by 15 points in the second quarter to overcome a first quarter six point deficit en route to a 91-68 win in front of 8,821 at Target Center on Tuesday night as play resumed for the second half of the 2025 WNBA season after the all-star break.
Minnesota guard Kayla McBride and Chicago guard Kia Nurse opened the scoring by exchanging layups leading to a 2-2 tie in the game’s opening minute. Sky guard Rebecca Allen popped off a three-pointer, which was answered by one from Lynx forward Bridget Carleton, who then hit a go-ahead three pointer to give Minnesota their first lead.
Sky forward Angel Reese attempted a layup which was blocked by Lynx forward Napheesa Collier. Reese rebounded the blocked shot but missed the put back layup. She rebounded that miss for her second offensive rebound of the game, which she passed to center Kamilla Cardoso, who attempted a three-foot cutting layup. Collier blocked that shot too and picked up a foul on Cardoso. Lynx guard Courtney Williams and Cardoso exchanged layups and Minnesota maintained the 10-7 lead with 6:41 left in the first quarter.
The Sky took off on a 12-4 run with a layup from Reese plus one of two free throws from Reese after getting fouled by Carleton. Cardoso rebounded a missed three-pointer attempted by guard Hailey Van Lith and made the easy tip in layup. Van Lith connected on a jump shot. Reese made two free throws after getting fouled by Lynx forward Maria Kliundikova and guard Rachel Banham hit a three-pointer. Lynx forward Diamond Miller made two free throws and guard Natisha Hiedeman made a layup during the run. Chicago led 19-14 with 1:57 left in the first quarter. During the Chicago run, Miller and Reese were assessed with offsetting technical fouls.
McBride made a three-pointer to cut the Minnesota deficit to two points, but a layup from Sky center Elizabeth Williams extended the lead to four points. A Banham three-pointer extended it to seven points, but Kliundikova was fouled by Van Lith with 2.8 seconds left on the clock. She made one of two free throws to make it a 24-18 score in favor of the Sky when the opening quarter came to a close.
The Lynx came out with a sense of urgency to begin the second quarter. Forward Alanna Smith drained a three-pointer right away, which was followed by a jump shot by Collier. Suddenly the Lynx deficit was down to a single point.
Elizabeth Williams scored on a reverse layup and Nurse hit a three-pointer to put the Sky back up by six points, but Minnesota came charging back. Carleton stole a pass from Banham and converted the fast break layup. Then Hiedeman picked off a bad pass from Reese for the fast break layup. Then Courtney Williams made a layup on the Lynx next possession and the game was tied 29-29 with 5:22 left until halftime.
A layup from Reese broke the tie but Courtney Williams could only get one of those points back when she went to the free throw line after getting fouled by Allen. A Cardoso jump shot extended the Sky lead to three points, but a reverse layup by Smith and a jump shot from McBride made it 34-33 in favor of Minnesota with 3:31 left in the second quarter.
With 3:01 left on the clock, Cardoso had the ball with one second remaining on the shot clock, reached forward and elbowed Smith in the face. Smith grabbed her faced and hit the floor. The officials reviewed the play. Cardoso was assessed an offensive foul but it was a common foul, not upgraded to a flagrant, as the shot clock had not expired.
The play inspired the Lynx to elevate their game.
McBride made a layup which was answered by one from layup. Collier and forward Maddy Westbeld exchanged baskets. Minnesota still led by one.
McBride hit a three-pointer. Smith converted two free throws after getting fouled by Westbeld. Collier made a layup. Suddenly Minnesota led by eight. Van Lith made one of two free throws with 12.3 seconds left in the half to trim the Sky deficit to seven, but Collier made a layup with 0.1 seconds left before the buzzer to lift the Lynx to a 47-38 halftime lead.
The Lynx continued to take the game to the Sky in the third quarter. Smith and McBride each made three-pointers. Courtney Williams was fouled by Cardoso while attempting a three-point shot. Williams made all three of her free throws. Collier scored a layup. Minnesota was on an 11-0 run to open the third quarter and led 58-38 when Chicago called timeout with 7:20 left in the third quarter.
Banham made two free throws after getting fouled by Smith for the first Sky points of the quarter. Collier scored twice before Westbeld put up the next points for Chicago, a three-pointer. That was answered by a layup and a free throw by Shepard who was fouled by Allen on the play.
Everything the Sky did was answered by the Lynx. When Nurse was assessed a technical foul with :39 left in the third quarter, Shepard was given one at the same time. It was the game’s second offsetting double-technical foul call. Minnesota held a 70-50 lead when the third quarter came to an end.
The teams continued to exchange baskets when the fourth quarter began. McBride made a jump shot. Reese answered with a reverse layup. McBride made another jumper. Cardoso responded with a basket and then added two free throws after getting fouled by Smith. But Courtney Williams made a jump shot. The Lynx lead was still 20 points. Reese made a layup. Collier made two free throws. Lynx led 78-58 with 5:40 remaining during the official’s timeout.
Knowing that the game was in hand, both teams relied heavy on their bench for the remainder of the contest. Cardoso fouled out, picking up her sixth foul with 2:52 left on the clock. Chicago had two shot clock violation turnovers in the last 90 seconds of the contest, a subtle reminder that this is how the bench learns how to play together.
Even during the final minute, competitiveness gave way as the Sky’s Westbeld fell on the court beyond the arc. It was Minnesota’s Shepard who offered her a hand to get back to her feet right in front of the officials, just before Nurse hit a three-pointer. Miller was fouled by Allen, and converted two free throws for the game’s final point. On their last possession, the Sky did not get a shot off in time and turned it over on a shot clock violation. Minnesota won 91-68.
Minnesota went 31-for-70 (44.3 percent) from the field; 9-for-29 (31.0 percent) from three-point range; and 20-for-24 (83.3 percent) from the free throw line. They turned the ball over eight times which led to six Sky points.
“First quarter we weren’t great. Mostly I thought our offense was poor after the first five minute. We were perpetuating problems on offense,” said Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve. “But defensively, we had our opportunities and we were aggressive and just trying to be disruptive. I thought we did that.”
Chicago went 24-for-61 (39.3 percent) from the field; 7-for-16 (43.8 percent) from three-point range; and 13-for-16 (81.3 percent) from the charity stripe. They committed 23 turnovers for 20 Lynx points.
“I think that things kind of just slipped away from us in that second quarter. I think we’ve shown in the last three match ups against them that we can compete,” said Sky head coach Tyler Marsh. “I think that today, kind of the end of that first half and the start of that second half that things snowballed in a way that just put us in a hole that was too deep to get out of as the game went on. So tiw as one of those games.”
Minnesota held a 36-28 advantage in points-in-the-paint; 18-7 lead in fast break points; and their bench outscored Chicago 22-20. The Sky held the 13-5 advantage in second chance points. The largest lead for Chicago was seven points. Minnesota’s largest lead was 24. There were four ties and four lead changes.
“It’s difficult guarding these guys – Angel [Reese] and [Kamilla] Cardoso. I just thought our commitment to really making things difficult early sort of set the tone,” said Reeve.
Napheesa Collier and Kayla McBride led Minnesota in scoring with 19 points each. Bridget Carleton added 11 points while Alanna Smith and Courtney Williams chipped in with 10 points each. Collier led the Lynx with eight rebounds while Courtney Williams was the assists leader with seven.
“Having our balance is our biggest weapon. It can be anybody’s night. Obviously we’re led by Phee [Napheesa Collier]. We know what she’s going to bring for us every night, but when everyone else is in the mix, that’s what makes us really dangerous,” said McBride when asked about all Lynx starters being in double figures scoring. “That’s what makes us a contender. That’s who we are. It’s a lot of fun too, when everybody’s pumped up and getting involved.”
The Sky were led by 16 points from Kia Nurse. Angel Reese added 11 points and led all rebounders with 11. Kamilla Cardoso chipped in with 10 points. Hailey Van Lith led Chicago with four dimes.
“I think the first quarter especially, we did a good job of attacking their pressure. They do a good job of putting physicality on the defensive end and we found some stuff that worked for us. We kind of went to it,” said Nurse. “We got a little bit stagnant in the bottom half of the second quarter and it put us in a bit of a tough bind, and then defensively we had a couple of miscues.”
Minnesota (21-4) hosts the Las Vegas Aces (12-11) on Friday at 6:30 p.m. CT. Chicago (7-16) hosts the Seattle Storm (14-10) at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday.
