Collier scores 26 to help Lynx top Sun 90-81 in Game 3 of semifinal series and take 2-1 lead

UNCASVILLE, Conn. (AP) — After struggling in the last game offensively, Napheesa Collier wasn't going to let it happen again.

The Lynx's star scored 26 points and Minnesota beat the Connecticut Sun 90-81 on Friday night to take a 2-1 advantage in the best-of-five semifinal matchup.

“Everyone has an off night and I try to contribute in other ways to help the team,” said Collier, who had only nine points on 3-of-14 shooting in Game 2.

She has put in the work all season on both ends of the court and the league's runner-up for MVP had the confidence to know the poor shooting game was a one-off.

With Connecticut making a run late, Collier also made three straight plays to change the momentum and seal the win.

Minnesota led 81-73 with 3:03 left when she scored, then got a deflection on the other end and capped it off by hitting Alanna Smith for a 3-pointer to make it a 13-point game.

“It's crunch time, I knew I had to be aggressive especially in one-on-one coverage,” Collier said. “Then, you know, just being the same on the other side, we really had to be aggressive. They were playing with desperation at the end.”

Game 4 is Sunday in Connecticut with the Lynx looking to advance to the WNBA Finals for the first time since 2017. That season ended in the fourth of Minnesota's championships during a seven-year stretch. Game 5 would be in Minnesota on Tuesday night if necessary.

Collier had 16 in the first half on Friday night and was aggressive from the start. Minnesota led by seven after one quarter and 48-36 at the half thanks to Collier, who made seven of her 10 shots in the opening 20 minutes.

The Sun tried to rally, cutting the deficit to seven on a three-point play by Marina Mabrey midway through the third quarter. But that’s as close as they got.

“Tough one for us. They do what they wanted to do on the offensive end of the floor,” Connecticut coach Stephanie White said. “We didn’t do a good enough job getting us prepared to play today. We got outplayed, outexecuted and outcoached.”

Brionna Jones, who had just eight points combined in the first two games, led Connecticut with 21.

DeWanna Bonner scored 16 for the Sun to move into second place on the WNBA career postseason scoring list in the third quarter. She passed Candace Parker, who had 1,149 during her illustrious career. Bonner now has 1,159 points, moving ahead of Parker by hitting a free throw with 1:36 left in the quarter. Phoenix's Diana Taurasi is the leader with 1,455.

All five of the Sun starters scored in double figures, but they got little contribution from the bench. The Sun reserves were outscored 16-4 by their Minnesota counterparts.

The first two games featured a chippiness between the teams, who pride themselves on playing physical defense. They were the two best defensive teams in the regular season — the Sun allowed an average of 73.6 points per game, the Lynx 75.6.

There had been hard fouls on both sides in the two games in Minnesota. There wasn't much of that at all in Game 3.

“I just thought it was across the board a slugfest,” Minnesota coach Cheryl Reeve said of the first two games. “And I’m quite sure they felt the same.”

There's also been a lot of trash talk on the court especially between Courtney Williams and Mabrey. The pair were teammates in Chicago last year and say that it's just on-court fun and there's no bad blood between them.

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Minnesota Lynx forward Napheesa Collier (24) smiles at forward Alanna Smith (8) during the second half of a WNBA basketball semifinal game against the Connecticut Sun, Friday, Oct. 4, 2024, in Uncasville, Conn. (AP Photo/Jessica Hill)

Connecticut Sun guard DiJonai Carrington (21) shoots over Minnesota Lynx forward Napheesa Collier (24) during the second half of a WNBA basketball semifinal game, Friday, Oct. 4, 2024, in Uncasville, Conn. (AP Photo/Jessica Hill)

Minnesota Lynx guard Courtney Williams (10) gestures during the second half of a WNBA basketball semifinal game against the Connecticut Sun, Friday, Oct. 4, 2024, in Uncasville, Conn. (AP Photo/Jessica Hill)

Minnesota Lynx guard Courtney Williams (10) talks with Minnesota Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve, center, during the first half of a WNBA basketball semifinal game against the Connecticut Sun, Friday, Oct. 4, 2024, in Uncasville, Conn. (AP Photo/Jessica Hill)

Connecticut Sun head coach Stephanie White reacts during the first half of a WNBA basketball semifinal game against the Minnesota Lynx, Friday, Oct. 4, 2024, in Uncasville, Conn. (AP Photo/Jessica Hill)

Minnesota Lynx forward Napheesa Collier (24) shoots over Connecticut Sun forward Alyssa Thomas (25) during the first half of a WNBA basketball semifinal game, Friday, Oct. 4, 2024, in Uncasville, Conn. (AP Photo/Jessica Hill)

Minnesota Lynx guard Courtney Williams (10) shoots over Connecticut Sun guard Veronica Burton during the first half of a WNBA basketball semifinal game, Friday, Oct. 4, 2024, in Uncasville, Conn. (AP Photo/Jessica Hill)

Minnesota Lynx forward Alanna Smith, left, is fouled by Connecticut Sun forward Brionna Jones, right, during the first half of a WNBA basketball semifinal game, Friday, Oct. 4, 2024, in Uncasville, Conn. (AP Photo/Jessica Hill)

Minnesota Lynx forward Napheesa Collier (24) shoots as Connecticut Sun forward Olivia Nelson-Ododa (10) defends during the first half of a WNBA basketball semifinal game, Friday, Oct. 4, 2024, in Uncasville, Conn. (AP Photo/Jessica Hill)

Minnesota Lynx forward Napheesa Collier pressures Connecticut Sun guard DiJonai Carrington, left, during the first half of a WNBA basketball semifinal game, Friday, Oct. 4, 2024, in Uncasville, Conn. (AP Photo/Jessica Hill)

Steven R. Hurst, who over a decades-long career in journalism covered major world events including the end of the Soviet Union and the Iraq War as he worked for news outlets including The Associated Press, NBC and CNN, has died. He was 77.

Hurst, who retired from AP in 2016, died sometime between Wednesday night and Thursday morning at his home in Decatur, Illinois, his daughter, Ellen Hurst, said Friday. She said his family didn't know a cause of death but said he had congestive heart failure.

“Steve had a front-row seat to some of the most significant global stories, and he cared deeply about ensuring people around the world understood the history unfolding before them," said Julie Pace, AP’s executive editor and senior vice president. "Working alongside him was also a master class in how to get to the heart of a story and win on the biggest breaking news.”

He first joined the AP in 1976 as a correspondent in Columbus, Ohio, after working at the Decatur Herald and Review in Illinois. The next year, he went to work for AP in Washington and then to the international desk before being sent to Moscow in 1979. He then did a brief stint in Turkey before returning to Moscow in 1981 as bureau chief.

He left AP in the mid-1980s, working for NBC and then CNN.

Reflecting on his career upon retirement, Hurst said in Connecting, a newsletter distributed to current and former AP employees by a retired AP journalist, that a career highlight came when he covered the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 while he was working for CNN.

“I interviewed Boris Yeltsin live in the Russian White House as he was about to become the new leader, before heading in a police escort to the Kremlin where we covered Mikhail Gorbachev, live, signing the papers dissolving the Soviet Union,” Hurst said. “I then interviewed Gorbachev live in his office.”

Hurst returned to AP in 2000, eventually becoming assistant international editor in New York. Prior to his appointment as chief of bureau in Iraq in 2006, Hurst had rotated in and out of Baghdad as a chief editor for three years and also wrote from Cairo, Egypt, where he was briefly based.

He spent the last eight years of his career in Washington writing about U.S. politics and government.

Hurst, who was born on March 13, 1947, grew up in Decatur and graduated from Millikin University, which is located there. He also had a master’s in journalism from the University of Missouri.

Ellen Hurst said her father was funny and smart, and was “an amazing storyteller.”

“He’d seen so much,” she said.

She said his career as a journalist allowed him to see the world, and he had a great understanding from his work about how big events affected individual people.

“He was very sympathetic to people across the world and I think that an experience as a journalist really increased that,” Ellen Hurst said.

His wife Kathy Beaman died shortly after Hurst retired. In addition to his daughter, Ellen Hurst, he's also survived by daughters Sally Hurst and Anne Alavi and four grandchildren.

“Beyond his remarkable career, Steve was the consummate gentleman, treating everyone around him with respect and kindness,” said Ken Guggenheim, a news editor in AP’s Washington bureau. “I recall in particular his care and support for his wife Kathy during her tough fight against cancer and how proud he was of his daughters.”

FILE - Associated Press writer Steven Hurst is seen, March 9, 2010. (AP Photo, File)