On Sunday, the Minnesota Lynx visited the Washington Mystics in D.C. holding a 2-0 lead in their best-of-five semifinals series. Thanks to big games from Maya Moore and the WNBA MVP Sylvia Fowles, Minnesota was able to get the 81-70 victory to put themselves back into the WNBA Finals. Here's a look at how the three-time WNBA Champions picked up the big win in the latest Lynx vs. Mystics game recap, including top players, stats, and what's up next.
Game 3 recap
The Minnesota Lynx came into D.C. on Sunday afternoon with every intention of closing out the series.
They did just that despite trailing 39-38 at the half. Minnesota closed out the second half on a 43-31 scoring pace to take the game behind double-digit scoring from three of their starting players.
One of those players was the new WNBA MVP Sylvia Fowles. She shot 7-for-12 and finished with 17 points and 14 rebounds for the game. Teammate Maya Moore led all Lynx players with 21 points on 8-for-18 shooting. Moore also dished out five assists and snatched three boards. Seimone Augustus also finished in double digits with 18 points on an 8-for-12 day that included going 2-for-2 on three-point shots. Augustus also had five rebounds to go with four assists in the game.
A trio of Washington Mystics starters combined for 42 points.
Elena Delle Donne scored just 15 points on 6-for-13 shooting to lead all players. Delle Donne also had eight rebounds. Tiffany Ruffin-Pratt had 14 points, and Kristi Toliver finished with 13 points in the losing effort.
The Mystics shot 38.8 percent overall and 36.4 percent from downtown while Minnesota hit shots at a rate of 50 percent in both categories.
The Lynx also won today's rebounding battle 36-31 and were able to pull away with the win despite having three more turnovers than the home team and a much worse rate at hitting their free throws.
What's up next?
Today's win puts the Minnesota Lynx back into the WNBA Finals where they were last postseason. The team will be on the hunt for revenge as they'll meet the team that defeated them for the championship in controversial fashion.
The series against the Sparks begins in Minnesota with Game 1 set for Sunday, September 24th at 3:30 p.m. Eastern Time on ABC. Game 2 is also going to take place in Minnesota and is scheduled for 8 pm. Eastern Time on Tuesday, September 26th. Game 3 and Game 4 will take place in Los Angeles.
For the Washington Mystics, the team certainly shouldn't hang their heads as they pulled off an impressive run despite some injury woes. In particular, the team seemed to miss the availability of Elena Delle Donne when she was out around the All-Star Game. However, they showed resilience to continue winning. In the playoffs, they managed to achieve an upset over the New York Liberty, who were the No. 3 seed. Look for this team to bank on this success when the next NBA season rolls around.