MINNEAPOLIS — Kristi Toliver scored 20 of her season-high 32 points in the first half, Elena Delle Donne reached 3,500 career points and the Washington Mystics beat the Minnesota Lynx 79-71 on Wednesday.
Toliver scored 14 points in the first quarter by making her first six shots and topped her previous season high of 19 in the first half to help Washington build a 44-32 lead. Delle Donne became the second-fastest player in league history to reach the career mark behind Diana Taurasi.
Delle Donne, wearing a protective mask after fracturing her nose earlier this month, finished with 11 points as Washington (12-6) won for the third straight time.
Lexie Brown scored 19 points and Sylvia Fowles had 18 points and 12 rebounds for Minnesota (10-10), which has lost three in a row.
Minnesota trailed by as many as 20 points in the second half but Brown banked in her fifth 3-pointer just before the third-quarter buzzer to cap an 8-0 run, getting the Lynx within 65-53. The lead remained in double figures until the 2:34 mark.
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