Lynx pull out 80-76 home victory over Washington Mystics

Playing without MVP frontrunner Napheesa Collier (right ankle injury) for the second straight game, Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve needed someone to be the team’s “big dog.”

Alanna Smith answered. In a tightly contested game, the Lynx beat the Washington Mystics 80-76 at Target Center on Friday night. Minnesota (26-5) fought through 11 lead changes, fueled by 25 points from the Australian — her highest output since June — plus six deflections, five rebounds and four assists.

“Lan was obviously terrific,” Reeve said. “And we needed her.”

Guards Courtney Williams, DiJonai Carrington and Kayla McBride also finished in double digits. Mystics rookie Sonia Citron led all scorers with 26 points on 9-for-12 shooting.

Washington (13-16) was without point guard Brittney Sykes and forward Aaliyah Edwards, both traded earlier this week.

So did Reeve expect a different approach?

“Honestly, not at all,” she said pregame. “I think this is a team that’s committed to their style.”

Carrington sparked the run by chasing down an offensive rebound and finding McBride for a layup. Maria Kliundikova followed with a triple to cut it to two. After a brief Mystics surge — with threes from Citron and Lucy Olsen — the Lynx controlled the rest of the quarter, closing the half on a 7-0 run capped by a Jessica Shepard and-one, a Williams pull-up and a Bridget Carleton buzzer-beater.

Washington erased the lead with an 8-2 run to open the third. The teams traded buckets for most of the quarter, neither leading by more than two possessions. The Lynx grabbed a 58-55 edge heading into the fourth after Hiedeman and Carrington combined for three straight scores.

Smith took over late. First, McBride found her for a layup. Then she buried a triple to push the lead to four with under four minutes left. After a Mystics timeout, Citron responded with an and-one, but Smith — who Hiedeman called “Ms. Do It All” after the game — hit another three, forcing another Washington timeout.

“They was leaving her [open] like she can’t shoot,” Williams said. At some point, you got to realize who got the hot hand, and I guess they just never did. So I just kept giving her the ball and she kept lighting them up.”

Washington kept attacking. Kiki Iriafen drew a foul on Shepard and hit both free throws. Then, with Carrington applying tight pressure, Citron drew another foul.

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Not so fast — Reeve successfully challenged, giving the Lynx the ball with 1:30 left. McBride drove for a scoop layup to put Minnesota up three. When Citron hit her fourth triple, Williams answered with a jumper.

Williams was called for a shooting foul with 36 seconds remaining, but Reeve won another challenge. After two jump balls, McBride sank two free throws to ice it.

“To be able to challenge those calls — thankfully, they played out in our favor,” Williams said. “And we made some big shots. Lan was huge for us. We needed every one of her buckets.”

Friday was special for Smith beyond basketball. Postgame, the Lynx hosted a fireside chat with Smith, Bon Iver frontman Justin Vernon, Lynx president Carley Knox and Briana Joyner of the Women’s Foundation of Minnesota. The panel discussed sex trafficking, an issue Smith has championed since her Stanford days.

“I have a really unique platform, I’ve got a lot of eyes on me and so I’ve got to use that in a really meaningful way,” Smith said Friday. “I’m super excited to get engaged with these guys because we all agree it’s a really, really important issue we need to pay attention to.”

Ahead of their Sunday game in New York, the team signed ex-Liberty guard Jaylyn Sherrod.

Sherrod, 23, was waived on Aug. 1 after playing in 28 games over the past two seasons for the WNBA champions. A former standout at the University of Colorado, her career high is eight points.