It was near the end of preseason, during a Lynx practice, when, playing defense, Courtney Williams stuck her hand out.

After practice this week Williams said she heard it, felt it as her hand got caught. She knew something was wrong.

"It was my thumb,'' she said.

She had ruptured a ligament in her right thumb, her shooting hand. Very briefly, she wore a cast. Perhaps more briefly, she listened as surgery was recommended.

"I was supposed to get surgery,'' the Lynx point guard said. "And be out for 10 weeks. I played through it.''

Surgery? Williams, in her own words, doesn't do surgery. So, she did the 2024 version of rubbing dirt on it. She put tape on it. She put up with it. And she went out and led a Lynx team that now enters the stretch run of the season as the No. 3 team in the WNBA.

That Williams was able to average nearly 10 points a game with an injury that affected every shot is impressive. What she has been able to do since it finally healed? More so.

The monthlong Olympic break might have benefited Williams more than anyone as she plays for her fifth team in nine years. After moving from off-guard to the point last year in Chicago, Williams — along with teammate Alanna Smith — signed with the Lynx during free agency.

Williams' second season at the point has made her more comfortable. From the first day she walked into the gym Williams felt she had found a team she felt comfortable with.

Since her thumb healed? "I was missing shots I normally make,'' Williams said. "Now y'all seeing what I normally make.''

In 25 games beforethe break, Williams averaged 9.8 points and shot 39%. In the eight games since the WNBA returned to action — seven of which were Lynx victories — Williams has shot 54.5% and averaged 14.9 points while still distributing the ball at a high rate.

In a tough, physical game against Chicago Sunday, Williams pulled the Lynx to victory. Up nine entering the fourth quarter, the game was tied with just under 8 minutes to play.

But, over the final 7:41, Williams hit five of six shots and scored 10 points in Minnesota's 17-12 finish to the game. She finished the game with 22 points, making 11 of 16 shots, with six assists and two steals.

The Lynx (24-9) are tied with Connecticut for the second-best record in the WNBA, though the Sun hold the head-to-head tiebreaker, with seven games left to play.

For Minnesota, five of those are on the road, including a three-game road trip that will start Friday in Indiana against a Fever team that, with five straight wins, is the hottest team in the league, having risen to sixth in the standings. If the season started today, those two teams would meet in the first round of the playoffs.

After having played six games in 12 days — including a stretch of three games in four nights — the Lynx had a five-day stretch between Sunday's victory at Target Center and Friday's in Indianapolis. That gave the team time to rest — get Smith back after missing a game with an ankle injury — and get some practice in.

That's all good. But what's better for the Lynx is having their point guard healthy.

"She never once complained,'' Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve said. "She never stopped playing the way that she plays. It was just, 'Hey, this is what I have to do.' ''

The stretch run will be difficult. The Lynx play Indiana, Washington New York, Connecticut and Atlanta on the road and have Chicago and Los Angeles at home. New York and Connecticut are currently the top two seeds. Indiana and Chicago are currently in playoff position, with Atlanta and Washington still vying for spots.

"We want to go into the postseason playing our best basketball,'' Williams said. "That's our focus, getting back to what made us a top team.''

Having a healthy point guard is a good place to start.

"It's healed,'' Williams said. "It's completely healed.''