Courtney Williams' second-half surge lifts Lynx over Storm 91-87

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SEATTLE (AP) — Courtney Williams scored 14 of her 20 points in the second half, Jessica Shepard added 13 points and 13 rebounds and Kayla McBride made 6 of 6 from the free-throw line in the final 30 seconds to help the Minnesota Lynx beat the Seattle Storm 91-87 on Tuesday night.

DiJonai Carrington — who was acquired from Dallas on Sunday in exchange for Diamond Miller, Karlie Samuelson and a 2027 second-round pick — made her debut for the Lynx and scored 13 points.

McBride finished with 14 points and Bridget Carleton scored 12 on four second-half 3-pointers.

Nneka Ogwumike led the Storm with 23 points. Ogwumike moved past Lauren Jackson and DeWanna Bonner into seventh in WNBA history with 140 career games scoring at least 20 points.

Erica Wheeler scored 19 points, Dominique Malonga added 12 and Skylar Diggins 11 for Seattle.

Gabby Williams had nine points and three steals and broke Seattle's single-season steals records with 77 this season. Natasha Howard set the previous mark when she led the WNBA with 74 steals in 2019.

The Lynx (25-5) have won seven of eight.

Napheesa Collier ( right ankle ) did not play for the Lynx. Collier, a minus-1000 favorite to win WNBA MVP at BetMGM Sportsbook, left late in Minnesota's 111-58 win over Las Vegas on Saturday.

Seattle's Tiffany Mitchell fell awkwardly on a layup attempt that was blocked by Carrington early in the fourth quarter. She left the game and did not return.

Seattle (16-14) has lost three in a row and four of five.

Seattle traded Alysha Clark, Zia Cooke and a 2026 first-round pick to Washington earlier Tuesday in exchange for All-Star Brittney Sykes — a four-time all-defensive team selection who is averaging 15.4 points, 4.4 assists and 1.2 steals this season.

The Lynx host the Mystics on Friday and Seattle plays the Aces in Las Vegas.

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AP WNBA: https://apnews.com/hub/wnba-basketball