Another fourth-quarter collapse was underway, but two free throws by Tina Thompson with one second left helped the Storm hand defending champion Minnesota its first defeat of the season, 65-62, Sunday night at KeyArena.
Neither the Lynx (10-1) nor Storm (3-7) could do much in the final few minutes. The Storm, which led by as much as 17 ion the first half, was up 57-44 entering the final period but failed to score until 5:43 was left in the game — and that was a single free throw by Thompson.
The Storm’s first field goal of the final period, a three-pointer by Katie Smith, put the Storm up 61-57 with 3:05 left. A lay-in by Camille Little at 2:18 pushed Seattle’s lead to six, but Maya Moore, who led the Lynx with 14 points, cut the lead in half with a three with 2:02 remaining. At 1:05, she hit two free throws to drop Seattle’s lead to 63-62.
With three seconds remaining, Seattle’s Sue Bird missed a pair of free throws but Thompson grabbed the second rebound and was fouled by Rebekkah Brunson with a tick left. Thompson, who finished with 10 points off the bench, drained the freebies and Moore’s long trey missed at the buzzer.
Bird hit 8 of 15 shots, including 5 of 7 behind the arc, to lead the game with 21 points. Guard Tanisha Wright had 12 points and eight assists. The win was the Storm’s second in a row after losing four of five on the road, and it ended the Lynx’s undefeated streak, a record to start a WNBA season.
