Lynx turn up defense in second half, improve to 7-0

Talk about a turnaround The Lynx gave up season-highs for points in a quarter and a half while being out a lot of things in the first half Sunday night It was not a pretty halftime reported coach Cheryl Reeve Her coach s frustration was really really valid revealed Napheesa Collier By stepping it up on defense the Lynx remain perfect on the season by pulling away for a - win at Golden State At - this is Minnesota s best start since a - kickoff to the championship season After allowing first-half points Minnesota held Golden State to eight in the third quarter the fewest in a frame by a Lynx opponent this season The Valkyries only added in the fourth We know what to do and that we re not going out to do it is extremely frustrating We need to go out and take responsibility for that I think that third quarter was us showing that we know what to do we just need to do that for four quarters Collier reported Four Lynx players scored in double figures led by a -point -rebound -assist -steal performance from Collier in almost minutes of action She missed Friday s win over Phoenix with right knee soreness Courtney Williams had points Kayla McBride and Bridget Carleton for Minnesota Williams who also had five rebounds five assists and two steals has reached the -point mark in two of her last three outings Her pick-and-roll encounter is so good shooting the basketball making life easy for others getting Phee easy baskets or Alanna Smith when she s rolling finding shooters She just has this unique confidence in herself that never wavers Reeve announced Her will to win is very high Her play is contagious Williams had three threes and Carleton Collier and McBride two apiece as Minnesota made a season-high -point shots But about that defense It was just a matter of us locking in Williams reported We know how we need to bring it every night and sometimes we take that for granted and we have to stop doing that If we want accomplish the goal that we have for ourselves we can t be a second half club Golden State scored second-quarter points for a - lead at intermission then went for in the second half including for from deep and turned the ball over nine times We had a greater passion for what we were doing than what we demonstrated in the first half As a impact I thought we were in their space a bit more A lot of stuff they were getting in the first half came pretty easy for them Their aggression was greater than ours their pace was greater than ours Reeve stated Up by one Carleton hit a triple McBride scored on a drive and Natisha Hiedeman added a trey for a - lead The Valkyries - went more than five minutes without a point during a third quarter in which they were of from the field and missed all nine -point attempts after shooting from the field in the first two quarters Back-to-back -pointers from Collier and Williams made it - midway through the fourth quarter the end of a - Lynx run Related Articles Natisha Hiedeman s with seconds left keeps Lynx unbeaten Lynx hold off Storm to improve to - Lynx Late meeting blitz keeps perfect start rolling Lynx beat Wings spoiling Paige Bueckers hometown return Mizutani Paige Bueckers fulfills prophecy with Minnesota homecoming against Lynx