Natasha Howard scored 26 points, including 14 in the second quarter, and the Minnesota Lynx beat the Chicago Sky 85-75 on Saturday at Wintrust Arena.
The Lynx (4-2) took the lead for good with less than a minute remaining in the first quarter and went up 52-38 at halftime. The Sky rallied in the second half, with Sydney Taylor’s 3-pointer drawing them within 70-67 early in the fourth quarter.
Kayla McBride made consecutive 3s to extend Minnesota’s lead to 76-67, and the Lynx closed out the win despite committing 19 turnovers in the game.
Howard made 10 of 12 shots in her 20-point first half and grabbed nine of her 14 rebounds.
The Lynx led 24-22 after the first quarter, then added the first seven points of the second. A 3-pointer by Antonia Delaere made it 34-24 with about six minutes left in the quarter. The Sky closed to within 34-29, but Howard scored nine of Minnesota’s next 18 points to finish the half.
Azurá Stevens — who made her season debut — blocked a shot in the lane, grabbed the rebound and hit a 15-foot jumper at the other end to highlight a 10-0 run that got the Sky within 63-57 with 1½ minutes left in the third quarter.
Stevens missed the first five games while dealing with a bone bruise in her left knee. She finished with six points in 16 minutes.
The Lynx led 68-58 heading to the fourth.
Minnesota’s three starting guards all average 15 points, and they combined for 44 on Saturday: Courtney Williams scored 17, Olivia Miles 14 and McBride 13.
Kamilla Cardoso scored 17 points and Skylar Diggins had 13 points, six rebounds and six assists for the Sky (3-3). Taylor scored 11 points off the bench.
The Sky defeated the Lynx 86-79 on Sunday but lost leading scorer Rickea Jackson to a season-ending knee injury.
Up next
- Lynx: At home against the Atlanta Dream on Wednesday.
- Sky: At home against the Toronto Tempo on Wednesday.
