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As the clock ticked under two minutes to play in Saturday's WNBA Finals rematch, the Minnesota Lynx trailed the New York Liberty by one and needed someone to make a play. Courtney Williams, never afraid of the moment, stepped forward. 

Williams got the 6-foot-4 Leonie Fiebich -- a strong defender but not as quick as the Lynx guard -- on a switch and drove left, then stopped on a dime as if she was going up for one of her patented mid-range jumpers, which she had been killing the Liberty with all afternoon. Instead, she pump-faked Fiebich out of the way, stepped through and swished a floater to give the Lynx a one-point lead of their own. 

The Lynx never trailed again and pulled away in the final minute for an 86-80 win, their sixth in a row and third over the Liberty this season. Now 28-5, the Lynx have opened up a seven-game lead in the race for the No. 1 overall seed, which comes with homecourt advantage throughout the playoffs. 

Minnesota's current winning streak has mainly come without Napheesa Collier, who went down with a sprained ankle during their Aug. 2 win over the Las Vegas Aces and has not played since. She was expected to miss at least two weeks, and will likely be sidelined even longer now that the Lynx have built up such a cushion. 

In Collier's absence, the Lynx have taken a by-committee approach. They've had three different leading scorers in their last four games, and on Saturday, it was Williams, who finished with a season-high 26 points on 10 of 18 from the field and chipped in five rebounds and five assists. 

"Honestly, we down Phee, so like I always say, somebody gotta give a little bit more. We all gotta give a little bit more," Williams said. "When I'm feeling it, it's a problem."

Including her go-ahead bucket, Williams either scored or assisted on 13 of the Lynx's 26 points in the fourth quarter as they outscored the Liberty by seven in the frame to secure the win. 

Williams' big fourth quarter continued an excellent summer for the 10th-year guard. She made her second All-Star appearance back in July and is now averaging 14.2 points, her most since 2021, along with 4.9 rebounds and 6.3 assists, which is tied for a career-high and good for second in the league. 

If Williams can keep performing at this level in the playoffs, it will go a long way toward helping the Lynx avenge last season's heartbreaking Finals loss.