The Minnesota Lynx have had to deal with their fair share of injuries already throughout the 2019 WNBA regular season.
On Sunday, the Lynx were faced with that obstacle once again. And it caught up to them in the final minutes of the game.
Minnesota, shorthanded with only having eight players available to play on the road in Arlington on Sunday afternoon, blew a 14-point lead to fall to the Dallas Wings 89-86 at College Park Center.
Already heading into the game knowing that they would be without Seimone Augustus (knee) and Jessica Shepard (ACL), the Lynx were also without Karima Christmas-Kelly (knee) and Damiris Dantas (calf) in the contest.
The loss pushes the Lynx to 6-6 on the season, snapping a two-game winning streak and also breaking a 12-game winning streak Minnesota held over Dallas entering the game.
In the opening quarter of the win, Minnesota got out to a 23-21 lead over Dallas behind an immediate boost from Danielle Robinson, who finished the frame with 10 of her 16 points in the game.
Shao Ting got some early playing time and led the Lynx second unit with four points in the first quarter, which included her recording her first career WNBA field goal.
To round out the first half, Odyssey Sims started to take over for the Lynx, tallying 10 points in the second quarter alone to finish the first half with an impressive stat line of 14 points and seven assists.
Minnesota, which led 53-41 at the break, shot 55.9 percent from the field in the first half. Its 53 points also marked the highest scoring half of the season.
As soon as the second half began, however, Dallas started to take over the game. The Wings dug into the Lynx 12-point halftime lead during the third quarter after holding a 22-16 advantage in the frame.
In the final 10 minutes, the Wings remained hot, starting the fourth quarter on an 8-0 run, outscoring Minnesota 26-17 in the frame and taking a late lead in the game off a Kayla Thornton 3-pointer.
Minnesota had a chance to tie the game and even take the lead with about 14 seconds remaining, but Sims’ game-tying shot with a few seconds left came up short and resulting in the Lynx falling to the Wings.
All five Minnesota starters finished in double-figures and logged 32 minutes or more in the loss.
Sims paced the way with 23 points and eight assists, Robinson finished with a season-high 16 points and five assists, Sylvia Fowles had 14 points and nine rebounds, Stephanie Talbot had 13 points and five rebounds in her first start of the season and Napheesa Collier added 11 points, seven rebounds, five assists and four steals.
Lexie Brown added five points and Ting ended the game with four points and three rebounds off the bench for Minnesota, which shot 42.9 percent from the field.
For Dallas, Arike Ogunbowale had 19 points and four assists to lead the way. Thornton had 17 points, Theresa Plaisance had 13 points and 10 rebounds and Isabelle Harrison had 12 points and six rebounds.
The Wings, which outrebounded the Lynx 36-27 in the win, finished shooting 49.2 percent from the field and made 11 threes.
Minnesota will return home for a brief one-game homestand when it hosts the Atlanta Dream at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Target Center. Following that game, the Lynx will then hit the road for their next three contests.
