Neal: DiJonai Carrington’s return for WNBA playoffs pulls Minnesota Lynx’s sturdy bench back together

The sound was unmistakable. And it made me pause the pecking at my keyboard and look up.

Fans at Target Center on Sunday began to roar. I had heard it before in the arena. I initially thought Naz Reid — the wildly popular bench player for the Wolves — had been spotted in the crowd. Because Reid brings that much passion out of hoops fans in town.

But no, it was for another wildly popular reserve.

Guard-forward DiJonai Carrington, who had missed the final four regular-season games because of a shoulder injury, was checking in for Bridget Carleton in the third quarter of Game 1 of the Lynx’s WNBA playoff series against Golden State. And fans were responding with thunderous applause.

Four minutes into Carrington’s stint, they roared again when she buried her first shot, a 25-foot three-pointer. And one more time two possessions later, when she threw one in from 27 feet.

“She looked good,” Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve said. “She was pretty locked in on what she was trying to get done. And she’s always impactful when she plays.”

Carrington was back, and that meant the Lynx bench, which includes Sixth Player of the Year candidate Natisha Hiedeman and forward Jessica Shepard, was back to full strength. If the Lynx’s formidable starting lineup isn’t enough of a challenge, their trio of key reserves makes them even stronger.

Shepard averaged 7.3 rebounds. Only four players on current postseason rosters averaged more — and all are regular starters. Shepard led the league in field-goal percentage, making 63.8% of her shots.

Carrington is known for her defense but averaged 8.6 points in her 11 regular-season games with the Lynx. She shot 48.5% overall and hit 45.5% from the three-point arc in those games, career highs by a sizable margin and likely the result of her being rescued from last-place Dallas in an Aug. 3 trade to join a championship-caliber roster.

When Reeve looks toward her bench, she can bring in two players who are the best or among the best reserves in the league at what they provide and a third who is operating at a high level.

It was evident Sunday, when the Lynx began their title quest with a 101-72 rout of Golden State. The Lynx bench outscored the Valkyries bench 42-17. In the first half, with the game still in the balance, Hiedeman and Shepard combined for 15 points while the Golden State bench provided zilch.

Add Carrington, and all three reserves would be starting for Golden State. The series shifts to the SAP Center in San Jose, Calif. — there’s a scheduling conflict with a tennis tournament at Golden State’s usual home, Chase Center — on Wednesday with the Lynx a heavy favorite to win and move on to the semifinals.

Samuelson played 16 games before breaking her left foot June 29 and undergoing season-ending surgery. As the trade deadline approached, Reeve pivoted and went for defense, sending Samuelson, former second overall pick Diamond Miller and a second-round pick to Dallas for Carrington, who was the league’s Most Improved Player in 2024 and was selected to the all-defensive team.

“We make the trade for DiJonai,” Reeve said, “and she certainly, when she was playing, gave us exactly what we were looking for.”

Carrington actually is providing more than excellent defense thanks to her newly discovered shooting stroke. That is a plus for the Lynx, who want as many shooters on the floor as they can get to run their five-out system. That offense was a pain for the Valkyries in Game 1. The Lynx made 41.7% of their three-point attempts, Carrington and Hiedeman each hitting a pair.

Golden State missed 19 of their last 23 three-point attempts; Zandalasini was 1-for-5 from the arc.

“When we can have them all,” Reeve said, “we like our bench a lot.”