MINNEAPOLIS — When free agency began in the offseason, Minnesota Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve made a call to 40-year-old center Taj McWilliams-Franklin.

Reeve figured the young Lynx could use a veteran presence. The second-year coach also figured McWilliams-Franklin could knock down the occasional jump shot, just as she had done when they were together in Detroit.

The pairing has worked out well.

McWilliams-Franklin scored 18 points, including the game-winning jumper with 1.3 seconds left, and added seven rebounds and the Lynx held on for a 62-60 win against San Antonio on Thursday.

“I don’t know if there’s a more consistent player than Taj, in that range,” Reeve said. “If you give her that shot, I feel like every time she shoots it, it’s going to go in from that range.”

Candice Wiggins added 15 points on a career-high five 3-pointers for Minnesota (15-4), which extended its franchise-best winning streak to eight games, the longest streak in the WNBA this season.

The Lynx have won 10 of their past 11 games and extended their Western Conference lead over San Antonio, Phoenix and Seattle to four games.

“Not our best performance,” Reeve said. “It’s not one that we will watch again, more than likely. All that matters is you got out of there with a ‘W’. You found a way. … Winning the game, no matter what it took or how it looked. Getting out of there with a ‘W’ is the most important thing.”