Daily Briefing — May 11, 2022: LLLynx — Minnesota aimless in third straight loss

Wonderful things going on up north these days.

Elsewhere, Washington snapped Las Vegas’ scorching start — although the Aces getting 5.5 hours of sleep couldn’t have helped.

But first, read:

• Our Lucas Seehafer takes a deep dive into the Lynx’s struggles and Reeve’s responses
• WNBA.com’s Mark Schindler sat down with Mystics rookie center Shakira Austin to talk about her journey, goals, and more.

Watch List, Wednesday, May 11

(All times in Eastern, Game Of The Day in bold)

• Los Angeles @ Atlanta, 7 p.m., League Pass (Local: Spectrum SportsNet/Bally Sports South)
• New York @ Chicago, 8 p.m., CBS Sports Network (Local: Marquee)
• Seattle @ Phoenix, 10 p.m., Amazon Prime video (Local: Bally Sports Arizona, JOEtv)

Tuesday, May 10 recap

Washington beat Las Vegas, 89-76. The game started close, before the Aces scored 13-straight points to stake a 26-11 lead towards the end of the first quarter; Las Vegas still led by five in the mid-third, before Washington ripped off a 20-4 run across the next seven minutes. The Mystics notched 10 steals, part of 16 forced turnovers; the teams combined for 34 fouls.

Washington was led by big Myisha Hines-Allen’s 15 points on 6-for-13 shooting (1-3 3pt.), eight rebounds, eight assists, three steals, and two blocks without a turnover in 29 minutes; big Elena Delle Donne had 19 points on 5-for-11 from the field, 1-for-5 from three, and 8-for-8 from the line, seven rebounds, two assists, and two blocks; off-ball guard Ariel Atkins notched 13 points on 3-for-6 from three (2-5 from two), eight rebounds, and three steals; rookie off-ball guard Katie Benzan played the first real minutes of her career, scoring 12 points off the bench on 3-for-4 from three (0-1 from two).

Wing Jackie Young led the Aces with 19 points on 7-for-16 shooting (0-2 3pt., 5-6 FT), seven rebounds, four assists, and two steals; center A’ja Wilson recorded a double-double with 10 points on 4-for-11 FG and 11 rebounds, plus three assists and four blocks against four turnovers; point guard Kelsey Plum had 18 points on 6-for-14 from the field and 3-for-7 from three, three rebounds, and two assists against three turnovers.

Indiana beat Minnesota, 82-76. The Lynx scored 13-straight mid-first-quarter points to build a nine-point lead early, but the Fever retook the lead by the mid-second quarter; Minnesota led for 165 seconds in the second half. Indiana shot 45.0% from three while holding the Lynx to 21.2%; the Fever notched 12 steals, part of 34 combined turnovers.

Combo guard Kelsey Mitchell led the Fever with 26 points on 9-for-16 from the field and 4-for-7 from three, four rebounds, and three assists against four turnovers; backup point guard Crystal Dangerfield had 10 points on 3-for-7 shooting (0-2 3pt.) and six assists without a turnover — while playing against the team that cut her at the end of training camp; big NaLyssa Smith notched nine points on 4-for-9 FG (1-2 3pt.), five rebounds (three offensive), three assists, and two steals against three turnovers; backup center Queen Egbo tallied four points (2-4 FG), eight rebounds, five steals, and three blocks against four fouls in 23 minutes.

Minnesota was led by center Sylvia Fowles’ 26-point, 14-rebound double-double on 12-for-17 FG with six offensive rebounds, three assists, four steals, and two blocks against three turnovers in 37 minutes; combo forward Jessica Shepard finished an assist shy of a triple-double, with 10 points (4-10 FG, 0-2 3pt.), 10 rebounds (five offensive), nine assists, and three turnovers in 38 minutes; combo guard Rachel Banham scored 14 points off the bench on 4-for-11 from three (1-3 from two), plus four assists without a turnover.