A hush fell over the Target Center crowd 24 seconds into the game. Kayla McBride was down. It did not look good. Her teammates surrounded her on the court, where she writhed in pain, crying and covering her face.

Minnesota aims to continue their dominant season despite missing their star forward, who is sidelined with an ankle sprain for at least two weeks.

Alanna Smith scored 25 points, Courtney Williams had 14 and the Minnesota Lynx held off the Washington Mystics 80-76 to improve to 16-1 at home this season.