Bridget Carleton hit a 3-pointer with 4.6 seconds left in the fourth quarter, helping the Minnesota Lynx clinch the second seed in the WNBA playoffs with a 78-76 victory over the Connecticut Sun on Tuesday in Uncasville, Connecticut.
DeWanna Bonner scored a layup to give the Sun a brief 76-75 lead with 8.5 seconds left before Carleton converted from beyond the 3-point arc. Connecticut fumbled on its last possession.
Napheesa Collier scored 25 points to lead the Lynx (30-9) to their seventh consecutive victory and 14th in their last 15 games. Minnesota failed to grab the top spot after the top-ranked New York Liberty posted an 87-71 win over the Washington Mystics on Tuesday.
Kayla McBride added 14 points and seven rebounds for the Lynx. Carleton scored 13 points and former Sun guard Courtney Williams added a season-high 12 assists.
Connecticut’s Alyssa Thomas scored 18 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds and DiJonai Carrington added 15 points. Marina Mabrey scored 13 points off the bench for the Suns (27-12), who failed to complete a three-game season sweep of Minnesota.
Carrington converted a three-point play to help Connecticut overcome a 12-point deficit and take a 70-69 lead with 2:25 left in the fourth quarter. Thomas scored Connecticut’s next two baskets, including a jumper from the free throw line that gave the Sun a 74-73 lead with 22.9 seconds left.
Collier calmly fired a suspended shot 12.8 seconds before the final sequence.
Mabrey hit a 3-pointer to tie it at 36-36 with 4:41 left in the second quarter, before the Lynx went on a 9-1 run that stretched into the third quarter. McBride made two free throws and a corner 3-pointer during the period.
Collier and Carleton each hit a 3-pointer, Williams hit a pair of long-range jumpers and Myisha Hines-Allen made a free throw to extend Minnesota’s lead to 62-50 with 1 left: 28 minutes into the third quarter.
–Field level media