It might get lost because she made the game-winning shot with 1.8 seconds remaining in overtime, but Napheesa Collier blocked Ezi Magbegor, who is three inches taller than her at 6-foot-4, three times in the first 6:03 Thursday night at Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle.
Collier was simply the boss of the game, as she asserted with those early blocks and with her game-winner late. She finished with six rejections to go along with 31 points, eight rebounds and five assists. Her game-winner came on an inside fadeaway after which the Seattle Storm’s Ivana Dojkić missed a three-quarters-court shot at the buzzer. Collier’s Minnesota Lynx walked away with the 99-97 decision — their second win over Seattle in three days.
The Lynx (6-9) led by as much as 13 in the game while Seattle’s largest lead was four.
Storm superstar and WNBA leading scorer Jewell Loyd went off for a career-high 41 points and was nearly the hero. But she dribbled the ball off her foot with 7.6 seconds remaining and the game tied at 97, allowing the Lynx to set up their game-winning play. The Strom (4-11) had trouble inbounding the ball and barely got it to Loyd in a tight spot before she made the mistake.
2023 No. 2 draft pick Diamond Miller made a driving layup for Minnesota to tie the game at 97…
