The Minnesota Lynx got big performances from Napheesa Collier and Kayla McBride to remain unbeaten by pulling away for an 81-65 win over the Dallas Wings on Sunday.
Minnesota outscored the Wings by a 24-9 margin in the fourth quarter to move to 9-0, its best start to a season since also winning the first nine games of its 2017 WNBA championship campaign. The Lynx hold the league record for consecutive wins to begin a season when they started 13-0 in 2016.
Collier posted 28 points and 10 rebounds in this latest victory, while McBride went 6 of 10 from 3-point range in adding 21 points.
Dallas’ Arike Ogunbowale also made six 3-pointers while amassing 26 points, but the Wings dropped their fifth straight game and are now a league-worst 1-9. Dallas was playing its fourth consecutive contest without 2025 No. 1 overall pick Paige Bueckers due to a concussion.
The Wings did provide a challenge despite being short-handed, though, as they closed out the third quarter on a 17-4 run to cut a 14-point deficit down to one. Reserve Maddy Siegrist had eight of her 15 points during the spurt, which she capped with a layup that brought Dallas within 57-56.
Minnesota scored the first seven points of the fourth quarter, however, and later put the game away when Bridget Carleton and Natisha Hiedeman knocked down back-to-back 3-pointers to stretch the lead to 77-62 with 2:24 remaining.
Mystics roll past Sun to get back on track
Brittany Skyes scored 28 points to lead a torrid shooting display by the Washington Mystics, who cruised to a 104-67 victory over the Connecticut Sun to end a three-game losing streak.
Washington (4-6) shot 58.1 per cent in the first half and 57.1 per cent overall in its first 100-point outing since 2023. Sykes finished 14 of 15 from the free throw line, while Shakira Austin chipped in 14 points on 5-of-6 shooting and Aaliyah Edwards went 5 of 8 from the field to contribute 13 points.
Connecticut, which had won two of three following an 0-5 start, shot just 39.4 per cent for the game. Tina Charles led the Sun with 17 points and nine rebounds, with Marina Mabrey and Jacy Sheldon each recording 15 points in the loss.
The Mystics opened the game on a 16-4 run and never trailed at any time, with their lead growing to 37-23 two minutes into the second quarter. They were ahead by as many as 16 points in the first half before heading into the break with a 50-36 advantage.
Sykes then took over in the third quarter, scoring 17 of the Mystics’ 28 points for the period to extend the margin to 78-53 entering the fourth.
The Sun never threatened in the final quarter, with Washington’s lead moving past the 30-point mark when Sug Sutton hit consecutive 3-pointers to make the score 98-64 with 2:38 left.
