ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) 鈥� Natasha Howard scored 26 points, including the tiebreaking basket with 51 seconds left, Courtney Williams added 21 points and the Minnesota Lynx defeated the Dallas Wings 90-86 on Thursday night.
Howard scored an uncontested layup on a pick-and-roll with rookie Olivia Miles, who had 15 points and six assists for the Lynx (2-1), that made it 87-85. The Lynx secured the win with Kayla McBride making three of four free throws in the last 17.1 seconds. She finished with 11 points, including going 9 of 11 from the foul line,
Nia Coffey added 13 points for Minnesota and matched McBride with eight rebounds. Williams was 9 of 10 from the floor as the Lynx shot 60%.
Paige Bueckers scored 27 points for the Wings (1-2), going 10 of 11 from the foul line and had eight assists. Maddy Siegrist scored 17 first-half points and Odyssey Sims added 11. Azzi Fudd, the No. 1 overall draft pick, came off the bench to score eight points in her second WNBA game.
McBride made a pair of free throws midway through the third quarter to give the Lynx a 55-54 lead, their first since the opening minutes.
to put Dallas up 70-68.
Siegrist had 17 points on 7-of-10 shooting in the first half when the Wings took a 48-40 lead. They led by as many as 12 before Minnesota used a 9-0 run in the second quarter to close within a basket. Williams had 13 points and Miles 11 for the Lynx.
LIBERTY 100, FIRE 82
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) 鈥� Breanna Stewart scored 22 points and Alex Fowler gave an unexpected boost off the bench as New York avenged a loss to Portland with a win.
The expansion Fire (1-2) picked up their first win on Tuesday when they shocked the Liberty 98-96 on Sarah Ashlee Barker鈥檚 putback at the buzzer.
Fowler, a former star at the University of Portland, signed a developmental contract earlier Thursday. She scored 12 points just two days after the Liberty bench put up 11 total. Rebekah Gardner had 14 and Julie Vanloo added nine points on three 3-pointers. The Liberty bench scored 41 points while making eight 3-pointers.
The Liberty were without standout starters Sabrina Ionescu and Satou Sabally for a fourth straight game.
Pauline Astier added 20 points as Inonescu鈥檚 replacement, giving the free-agent rookie from France 67 points in four games for the Liberty (3-1). After going 5 of 16 in the first quarter the Liberty finished 34 of 67 (51%) with 15 3s and 32 assists, including a career-high 11 from Marine Johannes.
Megan Gustafson had 14 points in 14 minutes, and Haley Jones added 10 to help the Fire bench contribute 39 points. Starters Nyadiew Puoch scored 13 points and Bridget Carleton and Emily Engstler both added 11.
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