Natasha Howard scored a season-high 27 points and Olivia Miles posted 19 with six assists and six rebounds as the Minnesota Lynx beat the Seattle Storm 88-68 for their seventh straight win on Saturday.
MINNEAPOLIS — Natasha Howard looked in control from the first stretch of shooting, and by the time Minnesota’s momentum fully clicked, the score stopped feeling like a contest.
Howard finished with a season-high 27 points on 12-of-16 shooting. Olivia Miles added 19 points with six assists and six rebounds. and the Minnesota Lynx closed out the Saturday matchup against the Seattle Storm with an 88-68 victory. It was Minnesota’s seventh win in a row, with the last six coming by double figures.
Courtney Williams and Kayla McBride scored 11 points apiece for the Lynx (9-2). Howard and Nia Coffey each came up with three of Minnesota’s season-high-tying 13 steals, setting the tone defensively. Coffey, meanwhile, had a key scoring moment that flipped the game.
Coffey hit a 3-pointer with 3:09 remaining in the second quarter to give Minnesota the lead for good at 39-38. From there. the Lynx built distance quickly: Howard made two layups while Coffey and Maya Caldwell each hit a 3 during a 10-0 run that pushed Minnesota to 55-43 less than three minutes into the third. After that, the game stayed at least nine points in Minnesota’s favor for the rest of the way.
Seattle struggled to keep up offensively and lost the ball too often. The Storm (3-9) committed a season-high 21 turnovers and shot just 35 per cent (22 of 63) from the field, a combination that turned Minnesota’s advantage into something sharper and more durable.
Natisha Hiedeman and Jade Melbourne led Seattle with 14 points apiece. Flau’jae Johnson added 10 points.
There was also a moment of return for Seattle: Dominique Malonga returned from an eight-game absence under concussion protocol and finished with seven points in 14 minutes off the bench.
The loss left the Storm on a five-game skid. Their next game is Monday at Las Vegas. Minnesota will host Dallas on Tuesday.
Between Coffey’s go-ahead 3 at 3:09 in the second quarter and the 10-0 run that arrived less than three minutes into the third, the game’s turning point was clear: Minnesota tightened up on defense, created steals, and then converted that pressure into scoring runs that Seattle couldn’t answer.
Minnesota Lynx Seattle Storm Natasha Howard Olivia Miles Courtney Williams Kayla McBride Nia Coffey 88-68 WNBA