Olivia Miles strengthened her case for WNBA Rookie of the Year with 23 points and eight assists, catapulting the league-leading Minnesota Lynx to a 92-87 road victory over the Las Vegas Aces Saturday night.
Natasha Howard was on top of her game as well with a double-double of 13 points and 11 rebounds for the Lynx (29-7), who have won four in a row –including a home defeat of Las Vegas last Saturday — and 14 of their last 15.
Napheesa Collier recorded 19 points, Kayla McBride contributed 13, and Nia Coffey and Courtney Williams added 12 points apiece.
The Aces (24-12) lost despite a sensational 32-point performance from four-time MVP A’ja Wilson, who shot 10-of-15 from the field, made 11 of 12 free-throw attempts and also grabbed seven rebounds.
NaLyssa Smith recorded a double-double of 17 points and 12 rebounds for the reigning league champs, who saw their two-game winning streak end. Chelsea Gray and Jewell Loyd scored 12 and 10 points, respectively.
Collier scored the first four points of the second half, putting the Lynx in front 52-48 with 9:07 to go. Las Vegas got within two at 52-50 thanks to two free throws from Wilson at the nine-minute mark.
Minnesota responded with a 10-2 run, taking its first double-double digit lead at 62-52 on a 3-pointer from Nia Coffey, forcing the Aces to burn a timeout with 5:46 left in the third.
Las Vegas was within 62-59 with 2:29 left after a pair of free throws from Wilson. But the Lynx closed on a 12-5 run to lead 74-64 heading to the fourth.
The Aces opened the fourth on a 9-0 run, getting within 74-73 on a jumper from Gray with 7:27 to play.
Back-to-back 3-pointers from Collier gave the Lynx an 80-73 lead and some breathing room at the 6:48 mark.
Collier’s two free throws with 8.3 seconds left iced the win.
Howard scored nine points and grabbed five boards in the opening quarter to give the Lynx a 23-19 lead after 10 minutes.
The score was tied 10 times in the first half, including at 48-all at halftime after Wilson knocked down a jumper with 34 seconds to play.
–Field Level Media
