The Minnesota Lynx had just won the WNBA Commissioner’s Cup by beating the New York Liberty, and their next game was an early start in Dallas. Courtney Williams wasn’t feeling it.
In that loss to the Wings, a team that ended up with the second-worst record in the league, the ninth-year veteran seemed to go through the motions. Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve was not pleased.
“We don’t pay you just to play at 7 p.m. If we have a game at noon, we pay you to play then, too,” Reeve recalled telling her that day.
Williams had a tough time, shooting 1 for 6 and committing four turnovers. Reeve pointed out that Williams seemed to give in to her fatigue.
“I told her I would never do that again. You will never have to worry about that again,” Williams said. “I think from that moment, I invited hard.”
Williams even said that this serious talk changed her life, a point she emphasized again this week when she and Reeve spoke after the team returned from New York. The Lynx split their first two games in the WNBA Finals against the Liberty, with Game 3 scheduled for Minnesota on Wednesday night.
“Some players aren’t held accountable like that,” Reeve said. “She’s an exceptional listener, and the coachability is off the charts.”
This is one reason why Reeve sought out Williams in free agency. Another reason was her experience. Additionally, Williams brings play-making skills that the Lynx needed to ease the defensive pressure around star Napheesa Collier and help outside shooters Kayla McBride and Bridget Carleton.
Including a crucial four-point play that helped Minnesota come back from an 18-point deficit in Game 1, Williams scored 23 points to start the best-of-five series. Liberty coach Sandy Brondello summed it up well: “Courtney Williams was a thorn in our side. She was the head of the snake.”
Drafted by the Phoenix Mercury with the eighth overall pick in 2016 out of South Florida, Williams has now joined the Lynx as her fifth team—and her fourth in four years—after signing with them before this season.
The Georgia native was traded early in her rookie year, ironically by Brondello, to the Connecticut Sun, beginning her winding journey through the league.
Courtney Williams had some great performances in the playoffs while playing for the Sun, but she never got to feel the excitement of winning a championship there.
This season, she is playing for coach Reeve, who led the Lynx to four titles between 2011 and 2017, and Williams is very close to finally getting a ring. In nine playoff games this season, she’s averaging 14.9 points and shooting 57.9% from 3-point range.
“Everything you’ve got in your bag, it’s time to pull it out,” Williams said Tuesday after the Lynx practiced at Target Center. “I guess I’m built different. I love the moment. I don’t shy away from the moment at all. All my life, since rec league, I always want the ball in my hand when it’s time to go make a play.”
Even though the Lynx have only led for about five minutes in the first two games, they managed to take back the home-court advantage. They will host Game 4 on Friday night, and despite their strong team chemistry, they don’t want to take another flight to New York for Game 5.
“We always believed it from the beginning. We have a great group,” Williams said. “Yeah, it’s hard. We understand that it’s hard. But we invite hard. We love hard.”
The Liberty quickly recovered from their loss in Game 1 to take control of Game 2 and finished strong.“The same things that Sandy felt after Game 1, we felt after Game 2,” Reeve said.
The Lynx are focused on playing much better in the first five minutes of the game. “Don’t wait and let someone else strike first,” Reeve said. Playing in front of a loud crowd should help.
“It’s not going to get any easier from here. This is the Finals,” said Liberty star Breanna Stewart. “It’s only going to get harder, but we’re excited for the atmosphere where nobody’s cheering for us and everybody’s cheering against us.”
