Courtney Williams pours in 23 as Lynx maintain off Storm to stay undefeated

Courtney Williams scored 23 points on 10-for-18 shooting and the Minnesota Lynx held on for an 82-77 win over the Seattle Storm on Tuesday night in Minneapolis.

Alanna Smith added 16 points on 7-for-11 shooting for Minnesota, which remained unbeaten in its first five games. Napheesa Collier shot just 7-for-18 but finished with a double-double (16 points, 10 rebounds).

Gabby Williams scored 20 points to lead Seattle, whose three-game winning streak was snapped. Skylar Diggins finished with 18 points, and Nneka Ogwumike had 11 points to go along with eight boards.

Seattle pulled within 76-73 after Diggins made a basket with 27.4 seconds remaining.

The Lynx held firm, however, as Kayla McBride sank two free throws to make it 78-73 with 23.1 seconds left.

After Diggins made one of two free-throw attempts to pull Seattle within four points, McBride delivered again with two free throws to put Minnesota on top 80-74 with 14.1 seconds to go.

Erica Wheeler made a 3-pointer to cut Seattle’s deficit to 80-77 with 11.1 seconds remaining, but that proved to be the final basket for the Storm. Collier made two free throws to finish the scoring.

The Storm outscored the Lynx 22-15 in the third quarter to cut the deficit to three points, 54-51, entering the fourth.

The Lynx sprinted to a 14-2 lead to start the game. Diggins made a layup on the first possession to put the Storm on top 2-0, and Minnesota reeled off the next 14 points in a row.

Smith, Courtney Williams and McBride accounted for all 14 points during the Lynx’s run. Smith made a pair of layups, Williams tipped in a basket and knocked down a jump shot and McBride drained each of her first two 3-point attempts.

By the end of the first quarter, the Lynx led 26-11.

The Storm outscored the Lynx 18-13 in the second quarter but remained behind 39-29 at the half. Seattle went on an 8-0 run late in the half thanks to a 3-pointer and a free throw by Diggins, a basket by Gabby Williams and a layup by Ezi Magbegor.

–Field Level Media