By: Jennifer Portee
5/28/2026
For most of the night, Atlanta was right there, hanging around, making Minnesota work for everything. But somewhere in that third quarter, the Lynx turned it up a notch, and once they did, the game started to slip away from the Dream. Courtney Williams was on fire. She finished with 25 points and seven assists, but more than that, she controlled how the game felt. When Minnesota needed to settle in, she did that. When it was time to push, she picked the spots. Natasha Howard brought her usual presence inside with 22 points and eight rebounds.
It was a four-point game early in the third. Then, just like that, Minnesota put together a run that changed everything. Thirteen straight points. No real pause, no chance for Atlanta to reset. One minute it’s a game, the next it’s a gap. From there, the Lynx just looked… connected. The ball didn’t stick. Players found each other in rhythm. By the end of the night, all five starters were in double figures, and the team had 26 assists.
Rookie Olivia Miles had her moments too, finishing with 16 and bringing a little extra energy, especially early in the fourth when she pushed the lead further out. Nia Coffey and Kayla McBride quietly added their pieces, the kind of contributions that don’t always grab headlines but matter over four quarters.
Atlanta kept trying to stay within reach. Allisha Gray knocked down shots from deep and led the way with 21. Naz Hillmon added 15, and Angel Reese battled on the boards. There were stretches where it felt like they might make one last push. But they never quite got the game back on their terms.
And late, it was Williams again left open just enough to rise into a three that pretty much sealed it. This one carried a little memory with it, too. Minnesota hadn’t forgotten how the first meeting slipped away at the very end, so Lynx stayed in control.
Now the Lynx move forward looking a little more in sync, while the Dream head back to the drawing board after their first loss away from home.