Hiedeman’s heroics keep Lynx unbeaten in desert thriller

How good are the Minnesota Lynx? Good enough to go on the road and win without MVP candidate Napheesa Collier, who missed Friday night's game in Phoenix with knee soreness. 

Without their star player, the Lynx found a way to stay in the game before striking like a snake in the desert with two big three-pointers in the final minute. 

The first came from Courtney Williams to tie the game 71-71 with 53 seconds to go, and the kill shot came when Natisha Hiedeman buried a three with 5.1 seconds remaining. 

“I passed Courtney the ball and then Courtney passed it to me and I'm wide open in the corner," Hiedeman said. "So I’m sitting there in my head, 'I'm like (exhale). This is for game right here, I got to knock this down.' that's what I did."

At 6-0, Minnesota is off to its best start since the 2017 team began the season 9-0. 

Hiedeman finished with nine points and five rebounds in 22 minutes off the bench. 

The Lynx were led by Kayla McBride's 20 points, while Alanna Smith scored 19 and Williams finished with 11 points, seven rebounds and seven assists. 

It's unclear if Collier will miss any additional time, but head coach Cheryl Reeve said Collier didn't play due to soreness in her knee and she was held out as a precaution. 

Up next: Lynx at Golden State, Sunday at 7:30 p.m. CT.