Lynx vs. Sky: Nia Brodie's Six 3s Turn a Tight Game Into a 79-58 Rout and a 4-0 Road Start

The Chicago Sky spent the first half on Friday building a respectable argument that they belonged in this game. Then Natasha Howard scored six straight to open the third quarter, Nia Brodie dropped three 3-pointers in a span of 70 seconds, and a 33-30 halftime score was 50-32 before anyone at Wintrust Arena could get back from the concession stand.

Minnesota won 79-58, its fourth win in a row and its fourth straight on the road, and the player who did the most damage reached a number she hadn't topped since 2018. Brodie finished with 20 points, eight rebounds and six 3-pointers on nine tries, her biggest scoring night since she dropped 23 on Seattle on May 27 of that year. Fifteen of those points came after halftime, a rude way to treat a team that had just clawed back from 11 down.

Ugly Early, Uglier Late

For two quarters, the rims at Wintrust were winning. The Lynx shot 35% in the first half and went 2 of 14 from deep, including 0 for 7 in the second quarter. Chicago had 12 points after one. Minnesota still broke an 11-11 tie with an 8-0 burst late in the first, on a 26-foot Brodie 3, an Olivia Miles layup and a Maya Caldwell 3, and a Liatu King layup made it 27-16 with 7:02 left in the second.

That was when Chicago made its stand. The Sky won the rest of the half 14-6, Rachel Banham hit from 30 feet, and Kamilla Cardoso's cut with 40.1 seconds left made it 33-30. For a team that was 0-3 on this homestand, that counted as a plot twist.

The third quarter gets its own section below, but Chicago did have one more push in it. Free throws and a 27-footer from Sydney Taylor made up a 7-0 run that cut it to 56-46 with 2:57 left in the period, and the Lynx responded with eight straight. Cardoso's four consecutive free throws got the Sky to 69-58 with 3:39 to play. They did not score again. Minnesota closed on a 10-0 run, capped by Kayla McBride's 3 with 1:08 left, her only make from deep after six straight misses to start the night.

Six for Nine, Everybody Else Two for Nineteen

Brodie's line gets stranger the longer you stare at it. The rest of the Lynx went 2 of 19 from 3, so one player supplied three-quarters of Minnesota's made 3s in a 21-point win. She was 5 of 6 from out there after the break, played 26 minutes and finished plus-20. Chicago had spent the first half daring Minnesota to prove it could make one.

Miles was the one feeding her. Four of the rookie's six assists ended in Brodie 3s, and she added 17 points and six rebounds on a night when her own jumper was off. She went 0 for 4 from deep and 4 of 10 overall, then made up for it by going 9 of 10 at the line. That's how a first-year guard stays useful when the shot isn't falling.

Howard gave Minnesota 14 points, seven rebounds and four steals, with eight of the points coming in the third. Courtney Williams, a former Sky guard, chipped in 10 and five assists against her old team.

Cardoso's 12 points and 13 rebounds were her fourth double-double of the season, according to the Sky, and eight of those boards came before halftime. Skylar Diggins also scored 12 but needed 12 shots to do it. Taylor, two nights removed from a 27-point game against Toronto, had seven points on 3-of-9 shooting, along with a career-high four assists, per the team. Banham pulled down a season-high seven rebounds but went 2 of 10.

The 17-2 Start That Ended the Suspense

The Lynx came out of the locker room aimed straight at the rim. Howard opened with a hook, a running layup and two free throws. Then the ball started moving outward, and this became a Brodie highlight package. Williams found her for a 3 with 7:52 left. Miles found her for another 16 seconds later, finishing a 12-0 run at 45-30. Diggins finally got Chicago on the board with a jumper, Miles made two at the line, and Miles set up Brodie one more time with 6:42 to go.

That was 17-2 in the first 3:18 of the half. A team that had needed 20 minutes to make two 3s just made three in 70 seconds. The Lynx won the period 31-16, shot 9 of 16 and went 10 for 10 at the line, and the score was 64-46 when it ended.

Stats That Matter

• 5 of 30: Chicago from 3, or 16.7%. The Sky shot 28.6% overall and 8 of 33 after halftime.
• 19-10: Minnesota's edge in points off turnovers, helped along by 13 steals and 18 Chicago giveaways.
• 19-9: Chicago's bench over Minnesota's, the rare column the Sky won and the one nobody will remember.
• 46: How many fewer points the Sky scored than they did on Wednesday, when they lost 111-104 to Toronto.

Perfect Away, Winless at Home

Minnesota is 6-2 and 4-0 on the road, and it's doing this without Napheesa Collier, who the AP reported earlier this month would be out until at least early June after ankle surgery. The league's box score again listed her as did not dress. The Lynx head to Phoenix on Monday night. The Sky say this was the teams' final meeting of the season, which means Minnesota took the series 2-1 before June even arrived, following Chicago's 86-79 win in Minneapolis on May 17 and an 85-75 Lynx win in this building on May 23.

Chicago is 3-5 with four straight losses, and every one of them came on this four-game homestand. The Sky opened the year 3-1 away from Wintrust and have yet to win in it. They also had Rickea Jackson, Gabriela Jaquez, DiJonai Carrington and Courtney Vandersloot listed as did not dress here, with the AP having reported Jackson's knee injury as season-ending. Next up is a trip to Washington on Tuesday, and at this point a road game feels like a perk.

Yes, Chef

Over on The Bear, the kitchen has a sign taped up that says every second counts, and everyone treats it like scripture until service goes sideways. Chicago knows the feeling now. The Sky held it together for 20 minutes, handed Brodie 70 seconds in the third quarter and spent the rest of the night cleaning up after it. Four home games, four losses, and the next table is in Washington.

Stats from the official box score and play-by-play via WNBA.com. Game details as reported by the Associated Press. Team notes from the Chicago Sky.