MINNEAPOLIS – Minnesota Lynx guard Natisha Hiedeman scored 11 of her game-high 21 points in the fourth quarter as the Lynx downed the Golden State Valkryies 72-53 in front of 8,824 at Target Center Thursday night.
There were three ties and one lead change in the game, all occurred in the beginning of the first quarter. Valkryies center Temi Fagbenle opened the scoring with a layup, which was answered by a jump shot from Lynx forward Napheesa Collier for the game’s first tie. Lynx guard Kayla McBride made the go ahead layup, but it was matched by a jump shot from Valkryies guard Kaila Charles for the game’s second tie. Minnesota guard Courtney Williams connected on a mid-range jumper, which was answered by Golden State guard Veronica Burton’s layup. It was a 6-6 tie with 6:47 left in the opening quarter.
Collier scored back-to-back three pointers, and Courtney Williams blocked a Burton layup The official’s called timeout with 4:53 left on the clock in the first quarter with Minnesota leading 12-6.
The Lynx finished the quarter on a 5-2 run as Charles made a jump shot for Golden State. Lynx forward Jessica Shepard added a layup of her own and Hiedeman scored a three-pointer for her first points of the game. The Lynx led 17-8 as the first quarter came to a close.
Shepard made a layup to open the second quarter, which was followed by one from forward Maria Kliundikova. However, Kliundikova fouled Golden State forward Monique Billings, who sank two free throws. Forward Cecilia Zandalasini added a jump shot for the Valkyries, and Burton made another free throw after an away-from-the-ball foul on Kliundikova. Minnesota led 21-13 with 7:38 left until halftime.
Hiedeman made a layup, which was followed by a Fagbenle three-pointer a minute later. However, the officials reviewed the play and determined that she was still holding the ball when the shot clock expired, negating the basket. Zandalasini and Courtney Williams exchanged baskets. Minnesota led 25-15 when the Valkyries called timeout with 4:51 left on the clock.
The teams matched each other for the rest of the quarter. McBride hit a three-pointer, but it was offset by a Fagbenle jump shot followed by a Zandalasini free throw after Lynx forward Alanna Smith was called for a transition take foul. Courtney Williams made a fast break layup to give the Lynx the 12 point lead when they called timeout with 2:42 remaining until the half.
Charles and Fagbenle each made layups when play resumed, but Collier answered them with two of her town. Minnesota led 34-22 at halftime.
The battle continued in the third quarter. Burton made a free throw after McBride was called for a technical foul as the quarter began. Collier answered with a three-pointer. Then Burton sank two more free throws after getting fouled by Courtney Williams. Collier hit a fadeaway jumpshot and the Lynx maintained a 39-25 lead with 8:39 left in the third quarter.
Golden State then went on a 9-0 run with a layup from Charles, a free throw from forward Iliana Rupert who was fouled by Alanna Smith. Zandalasini connected on a jump shot. Forward Janelle Salaun sank two free throws after getting fouled by McBride. Rupert then scored a layup and Minnesota called timeout with 4:59 left in the quarter while holding onto a 39-34 lead.
Shepard made a three-point play on a layup and free throw after getting fouled by Fagbenle. Zandalasini made one of two free throws after getting fouled by Hiedeman. A three-pointer from Hiedeman caused the Valkryies to call timeout with 3:47 left in the quarter and a 10-point deficit once again.
When play resumed, Rupert connected on back-to-back three-pointers to cut the deficit to four points, but Hiedeman split defenders and tossed up a layup. She missed the shot, grabbed her own rebound and sank the put back layup. Minnesota led 47-41 at the end of three quarters.
Hiedeman opened the fourth quarter scoring with a layup. McBride made a three-pointer. Hiedeman picked off a Zandalasini pass and converted it into a fast break layup. The Valkyries called timeout with 8:36 left on the clock.
Hiedeman wasn’t finished. She hit a three-pointer, made a layup, and then two free throws after getting fouled by Charles. Collier hit a short jump shot and Shepard attempted two free throws after getting fouled by Salaun, but came away empty handed. The Lynx turned an 18-0 run into a 63-43 lead with 5:37 left in the game.
Salaun made a layup to kill the Lynx run. Shepard went to the line twice after getting fouled by Billings and guard Carla Leite and converted two of four free throw attempts. Valkyries forward Laeticia Amihere made a three-pointer. Shepard and Billings exchanged layups and Minnesota forward Bridget Carleton hit her only three-pointer of the night. Leite was fouled by Hiedeman and made one of two free throws to make the score 70-51 in favor of Minnesota when the official’s timeout occurred with 2:20 left to play.
Billings hit a jump shot and Lynx guard Jaylyn Sherrod made a layup with 34.2 second left on the clock to complete the game’s scoring. Minnesota won 72-53 when the final buzzer sounded.
Minnesota went 29-for-67 (43.3 percent) from the field; 9-for-28 (32.1 percent) from three-point range; and 5-for-9 (55.6 percent) from the free throw line. They turned the ball over 17 times leading to 18 Valkyries points.
“We had a number of breakdowns with open shots, especially off of offensive rebounds. I don’t think it’s a good idea that we repeat and give those guys those open three’s. I appreciate that the statistics show that defensively we were good. We were very good in some areas and very bad in others,” said Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve.
Golden State went 19-for-66 (28.8 percent) from the field; 3-for-27 (11.1 percent) from three-point range; and 12-for-15 (80.0 percent) from the free-throw line. They committed 21 turnovers which led to 18 Lynx points.
“I trust our players completely. The ‘Let It Fly’ mentality has been amazing for us as long as we can maintain our space and take quality shots, which we now call family shots,” said Valkyries head coach Natalie Nakase. “Holding them to 72 [points] is great considering there were four offensive fouls, which was very shocking to me because those are turnovers plus fouls. I want to go back and look at those because you can’t turn the ball over against this team and we get a possession taken away.”
Minnesota led in all statistical categories: 34-20 in points-in-the paint, 12-10 in second chance points, 14-2 in fast break points, and 36-18 in bench scoring. There were three ties and one lead change. Golden State’s largest lead was two points. Minnesota’s largest lead was 20.
“That’s a well-coached team that will absolutely exploit the hell out of our weaknesses. We’ve got to make sure that we clean up the hustle areas, and the desire and want-to areas. There’s no excuse to have zero rebounds when you’re a post player,” said Reeve.
The Lynx were led by Natisha Hiedeman’s 21 points. Napheesa Collier added 19 points and Jessica Shepard pitched in for 11 points. Shepard led all rebounders with 14 while Kayla McBride and Courtney Williams paced the Lynx with four assists each.
“I don’t really know what I was thinking in the fourth quarter. I honestly don’t remember, to be honest. Flowing. That’s what we want to do, just flow,” said Hiedeman. “The whole time, approaching the end of the season, just being playoff ready. I just take them when they’re there and my teammates found me.”
“We just play so well together. It really could be anybody’s night. I’m just continuing to put in the work and stay confident,” she added.
The Valkyries were led by eight points each by Iliana Rupert, Kaila Charles, Veronica Burton and Cecilia Zandalasini. No player hit double-digit scoring. Janelle Salaun led Golden State with 11 rebounds and Burton dished a game-high seven assists.
“A lot of the stuff that we can fix is in our control, so if we get the rebounds, if we just hit a few more shots, it would have been a different game,” said Charles, who is already looking ahead to the playoff matchup. “I think it was a good learning curve to see the stuff that they’re going to run and how we can defend it and manipulate the game to our benefit. We’ll watch the film and be better Sunday.”
Minnesota’s Collier became the second player in WNBA history to record a 50/40/90 season, and the second to do so while averaging more than 20 points per game. She finished the season shooting 52.6 percent from the field, 40.3 percent from three-point range and a career-high 90.64 percent from the free-throw line.
“It’s a goal that Cheryl [Reeve] gave me in the beginning of the year,” said Collier. “It’s just like a sense of accomplishment. I’m a very goal oriented person, so when I accomplish those, it just feels good.”
“It was a goal of ours when we sat down with Phee [Napheesa], knowing that it would be a lofty goal. It had only been done once before, and that player was MVP of the league. Phee deserves that same recognition, and the numbers don’t lie,” said Reeve. “I think it’s something that voters should look at. It’s from start to finish. A 50/40/90 is historic. I don’t know how long it will be before it happens again.”
Now that the WNBA regular season is over, these two teams will face each other in the first round. The Minnesota Lynx (34-10) have the No. 1 seed and will host the No. 8 Golden State Valkryies (23-21) for Game 1 of the best-of-three series at Noon CT on Sunday at Target Center.
