NAPHEESA COLLIER is the WNBA’s leading scorer in the postseason, but it isn’t her made baskets that matter when the Minnesota Lynx face the Connecticut Sun in the decisive Game 5 of their semifinal series on Tuesday night in Minneapolis.
It’s the opponents’ missed baskets that Collier will focus on as the two teams clash to determine who advances to play the New York Liberty in the WNBA Finals.
“Our offense was able to lift us up last game, but if that’s not working, we have to rely on our defense,” Collier said. “It’s not been good the last two games. We’re both playing for our lives, so we have to play at that level of intensity.”
Minnesota is trying to reach the WNBA Finals for the first time since 2017. That season, the Lynx won their fourth title in a seven-season span.
Collier is averaging 27.2 points and 9.3 rebounds in the postseason. The regular-season MVP runner-up had 29 points and 13 rebounds in Sunday’s Game 4 when the Lynx lost 92-82 on the road.
Collier wasn’t pleased that her squad allowed 77 points over the final three quarters.
Connecticut’s Tyasha Harris was the surprise star with 20 points after she shot 4-of-5 from 3-point range.
Harris was scoreless in 13 minutes in the series entering Game 4. She missed Game 1 with an ankle injury and mostly sat and watched the next two games.
But her minutes picked up Sunday and the production followed.
“Stay composed, be poised and be ready when your number is called,” Harris said of her approach. — Reuters
