MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Courtney Williams scored 23 points, Napheesa Collier had 16 points and 10 rebounds and the Minnesota Lynx held on to beat the Seattle Storm 82-77 on Tuesday night in a matchup of early season leaders in the Western Conference.
The Lynx extended their season-opening winning streak to five games and welcomed the return of Kayla McBride, who missed the first four games for personal reasons.
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Seattle Storm guard Zia Cooke (7) shoots over Minnesota Lynx forward Karlie Samuelson (44) during the second half of a WNBA basketball game Tuesday, May 27, 2025, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)
Minnesota Lynx guard Natisha Hiedeman (2) works toward the basket as Seattle Storm guard Erica Wheeler (17) defends during the first half of a WNBA basketball game Tuesday, May 27, 2025, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)
Seattle Storm guard Skylar Diggins (4) works toward the basket as Minnesota Lynx guard Courtney Williams (10) defends during the second half of a WNBA basketball game Tuesday, May 27, 2025, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)
Minnesota Lynx forward Alanna Smith (8) points after making a three-point shot during the second half of a WNBA basketball game against the Seattle Storm, Tuesday, May 27, 2025, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)
Minnesota Lynx guard Courtney Williams (10) shoots during the first half of a WNBA basketball game against the Seattle Storm, Tuesday, May 27, 2025, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)
Minnesota led by double digits early before Seattle's Dominique Malonga scored to open the fourth quarter and pulled the Storm within 54-53. The Lynx maintained their lead and consecutive 3-pointers by Williams and Alanna Smith made it 70-64 near the four-minute mark.
Williams hit a couple of pull-up jumpers for a 76-69 lead with two minutes left.
Seattle scored the next four points, and it was 76-73 with 27 seconds remaining. McBride added four free throws and Minnesota led 80-74 with 14 seconds remaining. Erica Wheeler hit a 3 for Seattle, Collier added two more free throws for the Lynx, and the Storm turned it over on their final possession.
Alanna Smith scored 16 points and McBride added 15 for Minnesota. Collier also had five rebounds and five steals.
Gabby Williams scored 20 points, Skylar Diggins added 18, Nneka Ogwumike 11 and Erica Wheeler 10 for Seattle (3-2).
The Lynx hit six of their first seven shots and led 14-2 after 2 1/2 minutes. McBride made her first two shots in that sequence, both 3-pointers. Minnesota led 26-11 at the end of the quarter and 39-29 at halftime.
Late in the third quarter, Gabby Williams converted a three-point play and Diggins added two free throws to get Seattle within 48-45 with three minutes left in the quarter. Minnesota led 54-51 heading to the fourth.
Minnesota visits Phoenix on Friday.
AP WNBA: https://apnews.com/hub/wnba-basketball
Seattle Storm guard Zia Cooke (7) shoots over Minnesota Lynx forward Karlie Samuelson (44) during the second half of a WNBA basketball game Tuesday, May 27, 2025, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)
Minnesota Lynx guard Natisha Hiedeman (2) works toward the basket as Seattle Storm guard Erica Wheeler (17) defends during the first half of a WNBA basketball game Tuesday, May 27, 2025, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)
Seattle Storm guard Skylar Diggins (4) works toward the basket as Minnesota Lynx guard Courtney Williams (10) defends during the second half of a WNBA basketball game Tuesday, May 27, 2025, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)
Minnesota Lynx forward Alanna Smith (8) points after making a three-point shot during the second half of a WNBA basketball game against the Seattle Storm, Tuesday, May 27, 2025, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)
Minnesota Lynx guard Courtney Williams (10) shoots during the first half of a WNBA basketball game against the Seattle Storm, Tuesday, May 27, 2025, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)
ST. LOUIS (AP) — World champions Ilia Malinin and the ice dance duo of Madison Chock and Evan Bates will anchor one of the strongest U.S. Figure Skating teams in history when they head to Italy for the Milan Cortina Olympics in less than a month.
Malinin, fresh off his fourth straight national title, will be the prohibitive favorite to follow in the footsteps of Nathan Chen by delivering another men's gold medal for the American squad when he steps on the ice at the Milano Ice Skating Arena.
Chock and Bates, who won their record-setting seventh U.S. title Saturday night, also will be among the Olympic favorites, as will world champion Alysa Liu and women's teammate Amber Glenn, fresh off her third consecutive national title.
U.S. Figure Skating announced its full squad of 16 athletes for the Winter Games during a made-for-TV celebration Sunday.
"I'm just so excited for the Olympic spirit, the Olympic environment," Malinin said. “Hopefully go for that Olympic gold.”
Malinin will be joined on the men's side by Andrew Torgashev, the all-or-nothing 24-year-old from Coral Springs, Florida, and Maxim Naumov, the 24-year-old from Simsbury, Connecticut, who fulfilled the hopes of his late parents by making the Olympic team.
Vadim Naumov and Evgenia Shishkova were returning from a talent camp in Kansas when their American Airlines flight collided with a military helicopter and crashed into the icy Potomac River in January 2025. One of the last conversations they had with their son was about what it would take for him to follow in their footsteps by becoming an Olympian.
“We absolutely did it,” Naumov said. “Every day, year after year, we talked about the Olympics. It means so much in our family. It's what I've been thinking about since I was 5 years old, before I even know what to think. I can't put this into words.”
Chock and Bates helped the Americans win team gold at the Beijing Games four years ago, but they finished fourth — one spot out of the medals — in the ice dance competition. They have hardly finished anywhere but first in the years since, winning three consecutive world championships and the gold medal at three straight Grand Prix Finals.
U.S. silver medalists Emilea Zingas and Vadym Kolesnik also made the dance team, as did the Canadian-born Christina Carreira, who became eligible for the Olympics in November when her American citizenship came through, and Anthony Ponomarenko.
Liu was picked for her second Olympic team after briefly retiring following the Beijing Games. She had been burned out by years of practice and competing, but stepping away seemed to rejuvenate the 20-year-old from Clovis, California, and she returned to win the first world title by an American since Kimmie Meissner stood atop the podium two decades ago.
Now, the avant-garde Liu will be trying to help the U.S. win its first women's medal since Sasha Cohen in Turin in 2006, and perhaps the first gold medal since Sarah Hughes triumphed four years earlier at the Salt Lake City Games.
Her biggest competition, besides a powerful Japanese contingent, could come from her own teammates: Glenn, a first-time Olympian, has been nearly unbeatable the past two years, while 18-year-old Isabeau Levito is a former world silver medalist.
"This was my goal and my dream and it just feels so special that it came true,” said Levito, whose mother is originally from Milan.
The two pairs spots went to Ellie Kam and Danny O'Shea, the U.S. silver medalists, and the team of Emily Chan and Spencer Howe.
The top American pairs team, two-time reigning U.S. champions Alisa Efimova and Misha Mitrofanov, were hoping that the Finnish-born Efimova would get her citizenship approved in time to compete in Italy. But despite efforts by the Skating Club of Boston, where they train, and the help of their U.S. senators, she did not receive her passport by the selection deadline.
“The importance and magnitude of selecting an Olympic team is one of the most important milestones in an athlete's life,” U.S. Figure Skating CEO Matt Farrell said, "and it has such an impact, and while there are sometimes rules, there is also a human element to this that we really have to take into account as we make decisions and what's best going forward from a selection process.
“Sometimes these aren't easy," Farrell said, “and this is not the fun part.”
The fun is just beginning, though, for the 16 athletes picked for the powerful American team.
AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics
Amber Glenn competes during the women's free skating competition at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
Alysa Liu skates during the "Making Team USA" performance at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
Maxim Naumov skates during the "Making Team USA" performance at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
Madison Chock and Evan Bates skate during the "Making the Team" performance at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
Gold medalist Ilia Malinin arrives for the metal ceremony after the men's free skate competition at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)
