Natasha Howard scored 14 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, and the Minnesota Lynx held off the Phoenix Mercury 88-84 on Tuesday night. Nia Coffey buried a wide-open 3-pointer with 25.6 seconds left to push Minnesota ahead 87-83, and Olivia Miles later made one of two free throws with 13.2 seconds remaining to help finish it off.
The win came with Minnesota playing without Napheesa Collier, who is recovering from ankle surgery in March after also having surgery on her right ankle in early January. Even so, the Lynx found enough scoring around Howard to survive a hard push from Phoenix and improve to 1-1.
Coffey finished with 13 points and 10 rebounds, while Miles added 13 points, six rebounds and seven assists. Kayla McBride scored 14 points, and Courtney Williams and Emma Cechova each had 11 for Minnesota. The late sequence that decided the game started when Miles drove, drew the defense and found Coffey for the open look that made it 87-83.
Phoenix leaned heavily on the 3-point line early and stayed in front for long stretches, taking a 45-41 lead into halftime. Seven of its 14 made field goals in the first half came from behind the arc, but the Mercury managed only two 3-pointers after the break. Kahleah Copper scored 30 points, DeWanna Bonner added 16, Alyssa Thomas had 10 points and eight assists, and Natasha Mack finished with nine points and 10 rebounds.
The Mercury also left points at the line, finishing 23 of 33 at the free-throw line. That mattered in a game decided by a single possession late, when Minnesota got the final stops it needed and Phoenix could not make one more shot to extend the run. The Lynx are 1-1 after two games, and the Mercury are 1-2.
