Lynx pull away to easy Game 1 victory over Golden State

The postseason version of the Drive for Five is off to a roaring start for the Minnesota Lynx Aiming to win the franchise s fifth WNBA championship and its first since the Lynx began the postseason with a - romp over Golden State on Sunday at Target Center in the first event of the best-of-three first-round series Minnesota is the top seed Golden State the eight and the Lynx have won all five meetings this season by an average of points Still Napheesa Collier who led five Lynx players in double figures with points and six rebounds commented her squad will not be complacent for Wednesday s Championship No one on this company thinks it s going to be an easy meeting by any means We know it s going to be a fight They all work really really hard That s been a staple of their association this entire season We need to make sure we come with our A challenge especially on defense Settling in defensively was the key in Battle and a hallmark of this year s Lynx squad that finished with the WNBA s best defensive rating Outscoring Golden State by a combined points in the middle two quarters and through the final three didn t hurt And paint domination to the tune of - was pretty good too Minnesota was nearly flawless in the second quarter in limiting the Valkyries to points on shooting including for from deep and taking a - lead into intermission It was a stark difference from the first quarter when Golden State shot in the frame including five makes from outside the arc for an early double-digit lead that fell to - by quarter s end The Valkyries finished at nearly worse than the Lynx and made just four -pointers in the final three quarters Minnesota waking up from its early slumber coincided with Natisha Hiedeman entering the meeting with to play in the first quarter A strong candidate for the league s Sixth Athlete of the Year award Hiedeman again provided a spark that propelled Minnesota to outscoring Golden State - in the rest of the first half She finished a team-best plus- the second-highest mark in Lynx playoff history She changed the meeting in the modern day disclosed coach Cheryl Reeve Hiedeman is averaging points and assists in her past six games Announced Kayla McBride She s on a heater Throughout the season we ve continued to see her evolve And now when we need the majority she s showing up and showing out having a lot of fun and playing with a lot of confidence in that second group McBride netted points before joining Collier on the bench for the fourth quarter Center Alanna Smith finished at plus- with nine points six rebounds and four steals I think she s the defensive contestant of the year the way she s able to guard post players guards She didn t have any blocks at present but she does blocks almost every tournament Collier noted She is the anchor We rely on her so heavily on that end of the floor especially Minnesota reserves outscored the Valkyries non-starters - led by points from Hiedeman Jessica Shepard continued to be a handful down low with points and team-high eight rebounds in just minutes Our organization is deep It s about we Courtney Williams reported in a postgame in-arena interview She finished with points The Valkyries scored the first basket of the second half but the Lynx countered with a Collier fadeaway and a -pointer from Smith Williams then made a steal in the defensive end scored on a fast-break layup and added the free throw to make it - and reinvigorate the boisterous towel-waving fans that filled Target Center s lower bowl DiJonai Carrington in her first competition back after missing four with a shoulder injury and Williams had triples in the final seconds of the third quarter to make it - You get frustrated with the things we didn t execute on but it s a series for a reason It s - they were supposed to win at home They re the one seed and it s a home competition So they did what they re supposed to do Now it s our turn to do that at home revealed Veronica Burton who tied with a team-high points for Golden State on -of- shooting She had seven of Golden State s turnovers Jessica Shepard of the Minnesota Lynx defends the ball against Iliana Rupert of the Golden State Valkyries and Kate Martin during the fourth quarter in challenge one of the first round of the WNBA Playoffs at Target Center on Sept in Minneapolis Minnesota NOTE TO USER User expressly acknowledges and agrees that by downloading and or using this photograph User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement Photo by Matt Krohn Getty Images Related Articles Lynx beat Golden State in finale get Valkyries in playoff opener Top-seed Lynx stumble in playoff tune-up in Indiana Big third quarter boosts Lynx to achievement Lynx top Fever in Napheesa Collier s return Lynx top Liberty again to expand first-place lead to games