WNBA: Natasha Howard powers for 26 as Lynx rally to down Wings

Natasha Howard poured in 26 points, 19 of them in the second half, and Kayla McBride hit three key late free throws as the Minnesota Lynx rallied in the final minutes to beat the Dallas Wings 90-86 on Thursday in Arlington, Texas.

The Wings led by 10 points after one period, by eight at halftime but by only two, 70-68, after three quarters. Minnesota (2-1) stayed within striking distance in the final period and tied the game at 83 on Howard's layup with 1:57 left.

Howard converted another layup with 51 seconds remaining to give the Lynx a two-point lead. After a blocked shot by Minnesota's Olivia Miles that resulted in a shot clock turnover by Dallas, McBride made one of two free throws with 17.1 seconds left to push the lead to 88-85.

McBride was then whistled for a foul on Paige Bueckers' drive with 12.9 seconds to play. Bueckers made just one of the two free throws before McBride hit two more from the charity stripe to expand the lead to the final score.

Courtney Williams had 21 points, with Miles adding 15, Nia Coffey scoring 13 and McBride hitting for 11 for Minnesota, which has won two straight games.

Bueckers led the Wings with 27 points. Maddie Siegrist added 17, all in the first half, and Odyssey Sims hit for 11. Dallas (1-2) has dropped two contests in a row.

The Wings led 11-10 at the 4:46 mark of the first quarter before fashioning an 11-2 run over the ensuing 2:34 capped by a Siegrist layup to make it 22-12. Siegrist scored 10 points in the period -- the final on a jumper with 1 second to play -- to help Dallas carry a 28-18 advantage after 10 minutes of play.

Dallas led by as many as a dozen points in the second quarter until the Lynx drew to within 34-32 on Coffey's 3-pointer with 4:36 left in the period. The Wings got a pair of free throws by Siegrist with 3 seconds remaining and led 48-40 at the break.

Siegrist led all players with 17 points before halftime. Williams and Miles scored 13 and 11 points, respectively, to pace Minnesota.

Minnesota surged to the front via a 9-0 run in the middle of the third quarter, going up 55-54 when McBride canned two free throws with 5:24 to play in the period. The Wings responded, moving back to the lead on two from the charity stripe by Bueckers and then a step-through, Euro-step layup by Alanna Smith that resulted in a 60-55 advantage with 4:02 left.

-Field Level Media/Reuters