Lynx rally in fourth quarter to beat Atlanta Dream 86-79

On Wednesday afternoon at Target Center, during the annual, raucous Minnesota Lynx youth camp day, the Lynx came back to beat Atlanta 86-79.

And that’s saying something, considering the Dream have shot the ball better than any Lynx opponent so far this year.

Or that the Dream bench, reinforced by the return of Rhyne Howard, scored 52 points.

Or that the Lynx shot less than 40 percent from the field themselves.

But the Lynx, and especially Natisha Hiedeman, found a way to stand out in front of 15,013 fans.

An 11-2 fourth-quarter run that ended with Hiedeman’s third-chance basket with 1:54 left gave the Lynx a seven-point lead and, ultimately, a lead for good. Hiedeman scored seven points in that run and 16 of his 18 points came in the fourth quarter.

And it helped the Lynx snap a two-game losing streak and send Minnesota into the Olympic break with a 17-8 record and third place in the WNBA.

Kayla McBride scored 28 points, keeping the Lynx in the game for three quarters. Alanna Smith had a double-double of 13 points and 10 rebounds.

But it was Hiedeman, who played her best quarter in a Lynx uniform, who sealed the deal. She shot 6 of 10 in the fourth quarter and hit 3 of 6 from three-point range. Still, the game wasn’t really sealed until McBride scored to give the Lynx a five-point lead with 19 seconds left.

Cheyenne Parker-Tyus led Atlanta (7-17) with 16 points. She was one of three Dream players to score double figures as a substitute. Howard scored 15 points. Atlanta lost its eighth straight game.

The Lynx shot 12 of 36, or 33.3 percent overall, and made just 4 of 14 three-pointers in the first half, the least productive first half of the season.

The Dream shot 52 percent, had the edge in bench points and rebounds.

But Atlanta only led 35-33 at the end of the half.

The main reason: the Dream’s 11 turnovers, which the Lynx turned into a 10-4 advantage in points off turnovers. That and McBride’s shooting kept the Lynx close in a game where the offense wasn’t fluid. That continued into the third quarter, in which McBride scored 12 points.

Trailing by two points, McBride scored, was fouled and made the free throw. Hiedeman stole the ball, served to McBride, who scored, was fouled and scored her sixth straight point on the free throw to give the Lynx a four-point lead with less than 3 minutes left in the quarter.

But the Dream finished the quarter with a score of 10-2.

Former Lynx player Aerial Powers scored a three-pointer, followed by another three-point play from Destanni Henderson. The Dream led 60-56 at the end of the quarter.