Lynx outcharm Mystics in team "hot potato"

BY MIKE PEDEN

The Minnesota Lynx kept themselves in the race for first place in the Western Conference by eking a win against the Washington Mystics 96-94 in overtime Tuesday night.

The Lynx (8-4) played catch-up at Target Center most of the evening, going down by 10 early in the second quarter before tying the game at halftime, then fell behind by nine to start the fourth.

Lynx head coach Jennifer Gillom said the team could have given up by that point.

"Tonight, a team played basketball, and that's why we won," she said.

Gillom pointed out the three players who stepped up throughout the game. Lynx center Nicky Anosike was hot in the first half with 15 points, sinking nine of ten free throws, only to make three of seven the rest of the game before fouling out in overtime with 24 points.

Lynx forward Charde Houston got her turn in the third. After a scoreless first half where she played only five minutes, Houston put up 11 in the third, including six straight to start the quarter and finished the game with 19 points.

"The first half was me not playing up to my full potential," she said. "I can't get it back, so what I can do is contribute more in the second half."

Backup guard Renee Montgomery was next in line. Montgomery scored three points in the first three quarters, then scored nine straight in the fourth to start chipping away at the Mystics lead. In the fourth quarter and overtime, Montgomery made layup after layup, adding nine free throws out of 11 attempts.

Montgomery racked up 18 points in the final 15 minutes to finish with a career-high 21 points.

Montgomery said her and coach Gillom developed the play that got her layup after layup on Monday.

"Candice was setting unbelievable screens," she said. "They said keep running it until (the Mystics) stop it."

The Mystics (5-5) answered with their own mystique.

Former Lynx player Lindsey Harding, who was traded to Washington for a first-round pick in this year's draft, scored a game-high 27 points. 20 of them came in the second half and Harding made 10 of 17 field goals overall.

On top of that, the Lynx almost knocked themselves out of the game. Lynx forward Rashanda McCants was called for a five-second violation trying to inbound the ball with 4.9 seconds in the fourth, but the Mystics missed what would have been the game-winner.

More sweat came late in overtime.

Anosike fouled Washington's Marissa Coleman on a three-point shot with 8.6 seconds to go. Coleman made the first two free throws but missed the last, giving the Lynx a 93-92 lead.

Two Houston free throws put the Lynx back up by three, only for Montgomery to foul Harding behind the three-point line with 1.1 seconds remaining. Harding made her first two free throws but also missed her third. Candice Wiggins made one of two from the line before the buzzer sounded.

"I'm pretty sure that nobody here has ever been in a situation like that," Houston said.

"If we would have had lost this game, we'd probably want to all commit suicide because of what we did," Montgomery said, metaphorically referring to the Lynx's miscues. "As we learned from the Sacramento game, we have to learn from this game that we can't make that many mental errors and expect to win games."

The Lynx win kept them in a tie for first place with Phoenix in the Western Conference. They return to Target Center Friday to start a home-and-home series with San Antonio.