The Minnesota Lynx are returning to the postseason as their 86-73 victory over the Phoenix Mercury clinched a playoff spot on Sunday night.
The win was historic for Minnesota as it was Cheryl Reeve's 300th career victory. But it also signaled a massive turnaround as the Lynx became the second team in WNBA history to reach the playoffs after starting the season with six or more consecutive losses.
The Lynx punched their ticket in style, using the tandem of Kayla McBride and Napheesa Collier to fuel the victory. McBride finished with a team-high 23 points and Collier had a double-double with 22 points and 16 rebounds to go with five assists and three blocked shots.
Both players especially turned it on in the third quarter, combining for 17 points as the Lynx outscored Phoenix 28-13 to pull away for the win and a trip to the playoffs.
With the Lynx returning to the postseason for the 12th time in the past 13 seasons, there is a lot of positive momentum. But the bigger question now is what's next?
After last night's win, the Lynx are currently sitting in the fifth seed and would play the fourth-seeded Dallas Wings in the playoffs. With two games to go, the Lynx are virtually locked into their spot, sitting 1.5 games behind the Wings for the fourth seed and sitting 1.5 games ahead of the sixth-seeded Atlanta Dream and the seventh-seeded Washington Mystics.
A matchup with Dallas would be an even one as both teams split the four-game series this season. While the Wings took the first two games with a 94-89 win in Dallas on May 30 and a 107-67 win in Minnesota on July 12, the Lynx won back-to-back meetings last month with a 91-86 win in Minnesota on Aug. 22 and a 90-81 win in Dallas on Aug. 24.
The Lynx will travel to face the Chicago Sky on Friday night and wrap up the regular season at Indiana on Sunday afternoon. The WNBA Playoffs are scheduled to begin on Sept. 13.
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