23 August 2023
Bridget Carleton made the most of her increased playing time.
Carleton tied a season-high with 14 points off the bench before being ejected, and the Lynx held on to beat Dallas 91-86 Tuesday in a game that got extremely chippy and close at the end.
Minnesota (16-17) moved within two games of the fourth-place Wings (18-15) in the league standings with seven games to play, including a rematch Thursday in the Lone Star State.
Up 85-79, Carleton was whistled for her second flagrant foul to end her night with 25.4 seconds left. Satou Sabally made three ensuing free throws — after a few fans behind the Lynx bench were escorted out — and Veronica Burton one of two to get Dallas within two points.
Napheesa Collier made a pair of free throws with 22.1 seconds left, Arike Ogunbowale countered with a trey. And after a time out, Kayla McBride added two free throws.
Ogunbowale had a good look for Dallas, but her shot went off the rim and was grabbed by Collier, whose two free throws with 8.1 seconds left cemented the win.
Collier scored 29 points and Kayla McBride added 21 for the Lynx. Minnesota scored 28 points off 19 Dallas turnovers. The Lynx shot 48.6% from the field.
Seeing Collier and McBride atop scoring summaries is normal, but Carleton had scored just five points in her previous eight games, playing more than 10 minutes in just three of them.
Carleton had four makes from outside the arc in six attempts. She also drew a technical foul.
Up by one entering the fourth quarter, Carleton and Rachel Banham drained three-point shots, and Collier scored on a jumper for a 68-59 lead. A three-pointer from Carleton pushed the lead to nine almost 3 1/2 minutes later.
It was quite a bounceback performance for the Lynx, who lacked energy in Sunday’s 14-point home loss to Seattle.
And it did so against a Dallas squad that had 52 paint points as part of a 40-point win, the largest loss in Lynx history, on July 12.
This time, Dallas had 40 points in the paint vs. 34 for the Lynx, a 41-28 rebounding advantage and a 20-10 edge in second-chance points.
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