The Lynx got a great win at home over the Wings on Thursday night, putting to bed a lot of lingering concerns about their play in the last few weeks. Minnesota controlled the contest from start to finish and ended up with the 86-70 win. Though it is just one victory, seeing the Lynx beat a team they should beat by a big margin is encouraging.

Though the offense was solid, the Lynx won this game on the defensive end. Led by Danielle Robinson’s fantastic work on Arike Ogunbowale, Minnesota stymied the Wings’ flow the entire evening, particularly in the first half when the Wings scored just 32 points. While the overall defensive numbers from Thursday’s contest don’t jump off the page, it was obvious that the Lynx controlled the pace and physicality of this game from the opening tip.

In a highly-publicized battle between the two top rookies of the year, Napheesa Collier and Arike Ogunbowale both played very well. Collier finished with 19 points and added five rebounds, four steals and an assist while shooting 54.5 percent from the field. Ogunbowale finished with 22 points, three assists and two steals. She also turned the ball over four times and shot 42.9 percent from the field.

Fair to say that Collier won the matchup considering her team won by 16 and she was a plus 13 to Ogunbowale’s minus 19.

This was one of those games the Lynx just never seemed in danger of losing. They simply had the Wings’ number from the opening time and got fantastic games from Sylvia Fowles and Damiris Dantas to back up Collier and Robinson’s work. Everyone contributed, everyone played a role and Minnesota made it clear that they were the superior team.

A few key numbers for you: 41.7, 3 and 12. These are the Lynx’s three-point percentage, the Wings’ total offensive rebounds and the Lynx’s total turnovers. These are all impressive on their own but taken together they paint a picture of a team that came out knowing their weaknesses and took specific steps to amend them. The Lynx played hard from start to finish, they played their game, they didn’t let the Wings get into their heads or control how things were going to go. There’s really nothing but good things to say about what happened tonight.

We’ll have more specifics tomorrow, but for now, Lynx fans, enjoy this one. It was well-earned.