Lynx beat – Maya Caldwell led the Minnesota Lynx to a 100-72 win over the Toronto Tempo on Thursday night, with Minnesota firing on 55% shooting and dominating the boards to hand the expansion Tempo their seventh straight reality-check of sorts—this time as they fell to 3
MINNEAPOLIS — Maya Caldwell didn’t have to chase the game on Thursday night. The Minnesota Lynx guard simply kept it steady, and when Minnesota shifted into another gear, the Toronto Tempo couldn’t find a way back.
Caldwell finished with 16 points as the Lynx took down the expansion Tempo 100-72. It was the worst loss for Toronto, which slipped to 3-3 after having won its previous two. The Tempo’s other two defeats had come by just three and four points, but this one left a wider gap than any of them.
The Lynx controlled the opening stretch, too—Minnesota’s first four games this season had all been decided by a total of 16 points. Against Toronto, the separation showed up quickly: a 9-0 run sent Minnesota to a 27-14 lead after one quarter.
Courtney Williams added 15 points, and rookie Olivia Miles scored 14. Natasha Howard and Kayla McBride each had 13 for Minnesota, keeping the scoring balanced the way a team looks when it’s comfortable.
Toronto did get a spark from Kia Nurse, who scored 23 points off the bench, and rookie Kiki Rice added 11. But Brittney Sykes and Marina Mabrey—who combine for more than 45 points a game and had both reached 30 in a win over Phoenix on Sunday—were held to nine in total. They picked up a pair of fouls each in the first quarter. a small detail that turned into a big one as the evening wore on.
Minnesota’s execution was all the way around the floor. The Lynx shot 55 percent and owned the boards with a 46-25 rebounding advantage. They outscored the Tempo 42-24 in the paint and went 10 of 24 behind the arc.
Toronto’s numbers told a tougher story. The Tempo shot 34 percent, made 12 3-pointers, yet only hit 29 percent from distance—an inefficient combination that didn’t match the final scoreboard.
The score didn’t wobble for long. Minnesota led 53-32 at halftime, and after three quarters the lead had grown to 76-50.
Tempo: Host fellow expansion team Portland on Saturday.
Lynx: At Chicago on Saturday.
Minnesota Lynx Toronto Tempo Maya Caldwell Courtney Williams Olivia Miles Natasha Howard Kayla McBride Kia Nurse Kiki Rice Brittney Sykes Marina Mabrey WNBA 100-72 Minneapolis