Jul 6, 2026; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Lynx guard Kayla McBride (21) drives to the basket past Connecticut Sun guard Charlisse Leger-Walker (4) in the first half at Target Center. Mandatory Credit: Jesse Johnson-Imagn Images
Connecticut Sun forward Brittney Griner delivered a stellar performance, scoring 29 points on 11-of-14 shooting and grabbing 10 rebounds to secure a 90-89 victory over the Minnesota Lynx on Monday night in Minneapolis.
Kennedy Burke contributed 16 points on 6-of-8 shooting for the Sun (5-16), marking just their second road win in ten attempts. Leila Lacan added 13 points, while Olivia Nelson-Ododa chipped in 10 points and eight rebounds.
Minnesota Lynx guard Kayla McBride paced her team with 28 points on 10-of-19 shooting, but the Lynx (15-6) suffered their first consecutive losses of the season. Courtney Williams contributed 20 points and nine rebounds, and Natasha Howard added 18.
The Lynx were without rookie point guard Olivia Miles, who was sidelined with a right calf strain after starting the team’s first 20 games. The late injury update caught fans off guard, especially since Miles had practiced Sunday and participated in Monday’s shootaround.
With 1:35 remaining, Connecticut stretched its lead to 84-79, and Griner answered with a layup to push the margin to five points.
McBride responded swiftly, converting a three-point play via a jump shot and a free throw, trimming the Lynx deficit to 84-82 with 1:30 left.
Following a missed layup by Diamond Miller, Natasha Howard sank two free throws to tie the game at 84-84 with 54.1 seconds remaining.
The Sun steadied themselves, scoring the next five points. Burke knocked down a three-pointer to put Connecticut ahead 87-84, and Griner followed with a layup to extend the lead to 89-84 with 18.2 seconds left.
The Lynx’s rally fell short. Howard scored to cut the deficit to 89-86 with six seconds remaining, but Miller made one of two free throws to give Connecticut a 90-86 lead with 5.3 seconds on the clock.
Williams hit a three-pointer with 0.8 seconds left, narrowing the gap to a single point before the clock expired.
Lynx forward Dorka Juhasz made her season debut after missing the first 20 games with a right foot injury, contributing three points off the bench.