When it looked like the Golden State Valkyries were going to win Game 2 of the WNBA Playoffs against the Minnesota Lynx, Napheesa Collier and company came back from a big deficit in the last quarter to close the series with a 75-74 victory.
In doing so, they not only eliminated the Valkyries and became the first team to advance to the Semifinals, but also made franchise history.
Lynx make history
The SAP Center in San Jose saw the Lynx fall behind by 14 points. However, it also saw them climb the ladder and take the win. Minnesota shined thanks to Collier, who in 39 minutes of play scored 24 points, 7 of them in the last quarter. She also added 7 rebounds and 4 assists.
Kayla McBride, Bridget Carleton and DiJonai Carrington were the other three players who scored in double figures with 18, 12 and 11 points respectively during the game.
Thus, the first semifinalists managed to break a record that had not been repeated since 2006, when the WNBA split and changed from halves to quarters, as detailed by ESPN’s Alexa Philippou.
The Lynx had an 0-76 record going into the fourth quarter and were down by at least 14 points. However, with last night’s comeback, they managed to break that negative streak.
As if that wasn’t enough, in the four times they met during the regular season, Minnesota had prevailed against Golden State, so the Lynx keep their record against them at 6-0.
This game could have been the Valkyries’ first win thanks to Cecilia Zandalasini‘s 5-meter jump shot just before the buzzer. However, she failed and gave another win to Lynx.
Now, Minnesota must wait for its next opponent that will come out of the match between the Phoenix Mercury and the New York Liberty, after Breanna Stewart and her teammates failed to close the series and the Mercury forced a third game by winning 60-86 at the Barclays Center. Game 3 will be played on Friday, September 19 at PHX Arena.
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