MINNEAPOLIS – Napheesa Collier had 27 points and 11 rebounds and Courtney Williams contributed 24 points and both ends of the court to lead the Minnesota Lynx past the Connecticut Sun 88-77 and into the WNBA Finals for the first time in seven years Tuesday evening.

Kayla McBride got the Lynx off to a strong start with 10 of her 19 points in the first quarter of Game 5, as they faced the top-seeded New York Liberty in Game 1 of the Finals on Thursday night. The best-of-five series continues with Game 2 in New York on Sunday afternoon before Minnesota hosts Game 3 on October 16.

The Lynx, who finished second in the league in the regular season and were two games behind the Liberty, have won three of four games against New York this year. This also includes the WNBA Commissioner's Cup on June 25th, where the title of the season tournament is at stake.

DiJonai Carrington had 17 points and 12 rebounds and Brionna Jones had 16 points and 10 rebounds for the Sun, which shot just 38.5% from the floor (25 of 65) and was involved in 19 turnovers that the Lynx converted into 22 points.

“They just hit us in the face, we got shocked and then we couldn’t defend ourselves,” said DeWanna Bonner, who had 14 points on 4-for-13 shooting.

The Sun were ousted in the semifinals for the fourth time in six years. In the other two seasons, 2019 and 2022, they lost in the finals when Williams was part of the core that has not yet cleared the final hurdle to the franchise's first title.

Williams, who is in her first year at Minnesota, had her sights set on getting there from the start. The fiery ninth-year point guard was the catalyst on both ends of the court, attacking the basket, increasing the tempo on the break and harassing Connecticut's ball handlers. Williams had her most points in a playoff game since 2019 and added 7 assists, 5 rebounds and 2 steals.

The Lynx built a lead of as many as 21 points in the second quarter, six more than their largest lead in the first four games. They got off to a sluggish start to the second half, dampened by the Sun's cold shooting before Alanna Smith hit a three-pointer to end a scoreless deficit with 4:22 to play.

Williams then ripped the ball away from Bonner as she drove to the basket and raced the other way for a layup to take a 58-41 lead. Collier hit a three-pointer to cap the 12-0 run.

Connecticut eliminated Minnesota here in the deciding Game 3 of the first round last season. Since winning Game 5 of the WNBA Finals in 2017 and their fourth championship in seven years, the Lynx have been just 1-4 in winner-take-all games in the playoffs.

The atmosphere at Target Center suited the moment, with a boisterous crowd that included former Lynx star and Hall of Famer Lindsay Whalen, Minnesota Vikings running back Aaron Jones and two members of the state's congressional delegation, Rep Angie Craig and Senator Tina Smith, included .

Collier, who averaged 40 points in the two-game win over the Phoenix Mercury in the first round and had 29 points and 13 rebounds in Game 4 at Connecticut, was her usual cool self with the confidence and determination of a star making his first aims for mastery.

“She's just the combination of everything you want in a player, but I think what's special about her, aside from the obvious ability, is that she doesn't let herself be put under pressure,” Sun coach Stephanie White said. “She stays so poised no matter what, and you can tell the rest of her team benefits from that.”

Alyssa Thomas scored a quiet seven points and six assists for the Sun, who trailed by double figures in all but 12 seconds of the final three quarters. Marina Mabrey, a substitute for the second straight game, injured her ankle in the first half after taking an awkward step near a photographer on the baseline and played only 14 minutes.

“She’s one of the toughest kids I’ve ever been around,” White said. “She tried to give it a try, but she just couldn’t.”