Lynx beat Sky 91-68 in first game after All-Star weekend

For fans worried about a Lynx loss Tuesday night — a result coach Cheryl Reeve joked would cause her to shut down Courtney Williams and Natisha Hiedeman’s Twitch channel “StudBudz” — they would likely go to sleep with a mix of relief and concern.

Following a whirlwind All-Star weekend, the Lynx dismantled the Sky in a 91-68 victory at Target Center. In the process, Hiedeman went down with a left ankle injury at the end of the third quarter.

She collided with the Sky’s Maddy Westbeld near midcourt, rolled on the floor and hit the hardwood with her fist. Two staff members helped her off the court.

Hiedeman returned to the bench in the fourth quarter, watching alongside team trainer Chuck Barta as the Lynx (21-4) closed out their 15th double-digit victory of the season.

Kayla McBride and Napheesa Collier led Minnesota with 19 points each. Collier added a team-high eight rebounds, while Williams dished out a game-high seven assists.

All starters finished in double figures. For the second straight game, every active Lynx player scored.

“It’s so important having our balance,” McBride said. “I think that’s our biggest weapon. It can be anybody’s night.”

“It’s difficult guarding these guys — Angel [Reese] and [Kamilla] Cardoso,” she said. “I just thought our commitment to really making things difficult early sort of set the tone. ... We were aggressive and just trying to be disruptive.”

The Lynx, who recorded a season-high 14 steals in their last matchup with the Sky (7-16), started strong Tuesday. Collier had three blocks in the first three minutes. Bridget Carleton hit two quick threes in that stretch. Soon afterward, Williams forced Kia Nurse to travel. The pink-haired guard clapped and high-fived two courtside fans.

But the Sky briefly pushed back.

Former Gopher Rachel Banham hit two late first-quarter threes, giving Chicago a seven-point lead — the Sky’s largest of the game. Minnesota responded with a Maria Kliundikova free throw and an Alanna Smith three-pointer, cutting it to three.

BOXSCORE: Lynx 91, Chicago 68

From there, both teams traded buckets until the Lynx’s defense — which recorded 10 points off seven turnovers in the second quarter — shifted momentum.

McBride’s steal and pull-up jumper midway through the second quarter gave Minnesota its first lead since the opening quarter. She and Collier then fueled a 13-5 run to close the half with a 47-38 advantage.

Collier pointed to the Lynx’s ball pressure as the key to their success.

“It’s so good when we’re up on the ball,” she said, “disrupting the play, making them catch it out farther than they want to, making sure the posts are under duress. ... That’s something that we’ve been working on, obviously, all season. It feels like we’re finally starting to click on it on all cylinders.”

The Lynx opened the third quarter with an 11-0 run, highlighted by back-to-back threes from Smith and McBride, three free throws from Williams and a Collier layup.

And while Hiedeman’s status for Friday’s game against the Las Vegas Aces (12-11) is unknown, her teammates are glad “StudBudz” will live to see another day.

“Thank goodness,” McBride said, later adding, “the world might’ve stopped spinning.”

Belgian forward Emma Meesseman rocked the WNBA world when news broke Monday of her commitment to join the New York Liberty.

The Lynx were in the mix for Meesseman, Reeve confirmed Tuesday, and will now pivot to other possible additions with the trade deadline approaching in early August.

“We could do something that we feel like could help in terms of depth. We could do something that we feel like is good for the future,” she said. “We’re just gonna keep weighing options and see what’s available.”