Monarchs shut down Harding to beat Lynx

Harding, the No. 1 overall pick in this year’s WNBA Draft out of Duke, had 12 points in an 83-64 loss at Indiana on Saturday, but had a difficult time a day later. She had just four points in her home debut, going 1-for-12 from the field, as the Lynx shot 31.1 percent. They were also outrebounded, 42-23.

Nicole Powell had 14 points, DeMya Walker 12 and Kristin Haynie 10 for the Monarchs, the WNBA Finals participants from the Western Conference last year. Walker also had nine rebounds.

Seimone Augustus had 28 points to pace Minnesota, which also got nine points from Kristen Mann. The Lynx lost despite forcing 21 turnovers.

Harding’s first point of the game didn’t come until there was 3:22 left, drawing the Lynx within 63-59. However, they couldn’t go ahead down the stretch. Her only bucket came with 19.2 seconds remaining, a layup that turned into a three-point play, but the home team was already behind 72-64.