Nia Coffey caught the ball on the wing, stood wide open and drilled a 3-pointer with 25.6 seconds left to push Minnesota ahead by four, the basket that sealed an 88-84 win over the Phoenix Mercury on Tuesday night. Coffey’s third 3 of the game came after rookie Olivia Miles drove and kicked to her for the 87-83 lead, and the Lynx never gave back control.
Coffey finished with 13 points and 10 rebounds for Minnesota, which improved to 1-1. Miles added 13 points, six rebounds and seven assists, while Natasha Howard had 14 points and 11 rebounds and Kayla McBride also scored 14. Courtney Williams and Emma Cechova each added 11 points. For Phoenix, Kahleah Copper scored 30 points and DeWanna Bonner added 16, but the Mercury fell to 1-2 after a night in which they led 45-41 at halftime.
The game was part of the early WNBA season, and Minnesota did it without Napheesa Collier, who is out until at least early June while recovering from ankle surgery in March. That absence matters because Collier remains one of the Lynx’s central scorers and rebounders, but on this night Minnesota found enough scoring across the lineup to survive Phoenix’s bursts and close out the final possessions.
The finish turned on the kind of small, hard plays that decide close games. Miles secured a rebound after a missed 3-pointer and made 1 of 2 free throws with 13.2 seconds left, a possession that left Phoenix needing a perfect stretch to catch up. Instead, Minnesota’s late shooting and second-half response erased the halftime deficit and gave the Lynx a win they could not afford to waste this early in the season.
What stays with Minnesota is not just the score, but the way it was earned: with a rookie making the right pass, Coffey taking the shot in rhythm, and the Lynx getting enough from a spread-out attack to keep the pressure off Collier’s absence until she returns in June.
