It was far from a pretty win for the Lynx.

Minnesota defeated the Washington Mystics 74-67 on Saturday at Target Center without its MVP and Defensive Player of the Year candidate Napheesa Collier, but Courtney Williams stepped up in her absence.

Williams nearly matched her 10-point scoring average with a nine-point first quarter and ended the game with 17 points, seven assists and six rebounds and a game-high plus-minus of 16. Kayla McBride added 17 points and Bridget Carleton had 13 points and six rebounds.

Collier reaggravated a foot injury Thursday against Connecticut. She leads the Lynx (15-6) with averages of 20 points, 10.2 rebounds and 2.2 steals and is averaging 3.7 assists and 1.5 blocks.

Minnesota, one of the best first-quarter scoring teams in the WNBA and the league’s top-ranked defense, owned a 25-14 lead after the opening quarter in which it forced the Mystics into seven turnovers.

But the Lynx followed with one of their lowest-scoring quarters this season, scoring nine points on 5-of-21 shooting from the field and 1-of-10 on 3-pointers. The Mystics put up 22 points to tie the game at 36 heading into halftime.

Despite the absence of their leading rebounder, the Lynx outrebounded Washington 38-32. Lynx forward Dorka Juhasz led all players with 11 rebounds in 23 minutes and Alanna Smith had eight rebounds.

Smith came into the matchup making 47.7% of her 3-pointers, second-best in the league. She shot an uncharacteristic 2 of 11 from the field and 0 of 3 from distance and finished with seven points.

Smith made a difference with her defense in the fourth quarter, however. WIth the Lynx leading 65-60 with 6:48 to play, Smith blocked Ariel Atkins’ short jumper. With 3:44 left and the Lynx up 70-64, she rejected Stefanie Dolson’s layup attempt.Carleton came through with seven timely points in the third quarter. But she picked up four fouls within seven minutes, taking her out of the game just as she began to find her rhythm. Carleton picked up her final foul early in the fourth quarter.

Playing a career-high 10 minutes in her first appearance since June 22, rookie forward Alissa Pili’s 3-pointer early in the fourth quarter gave the Lynx a 58-57 lead.

Minnesota scored 19 points to Washington’s 10 points on 4-of-18 shooting in the fourth quarter.

Minnesota shot 38.6% on 27-of-70 shooting from the field for the game. Washington ended the game hitting 41.7% of its shots after shooting 52% in the first half — a significant decrease due to the Lynx’s added pressure in the second half.

Briefly

Lynx forward Alanna Smith was named to the Australian women’s national team that will compete in the Paris Olympics on Saturday. She was also a member of the team for the 2020 Tokyo Games. Smith is averaging career-highs in points (12.1), rebounds (5.0) and assists (3.2) and is second in the WNBA in 3-point shooting at 47.7% (31 of 65).