Minnesota Lynx forward Napheesa Collier offered a quick answer when asked about her favorite part of playing in the FIBA Women’s World Cup.
“The highlight was winning at the end,” Collier said with a smile.
Now, Collier is ready to rejoin her WNBA teammates as Minnesota (31-9) tips off against the New York Liberty (24-16) on Friday night in Minneapolis. It is the first game this month for both teams after the league paused play for FIBA’s international tournament.
Collier helped Team USA defeat France to win the title.
“I feel good,” Collier said. “It’s always such an honor to put ‘USA’ across your chest and play for your country, but I definitely missed my team, too. To be back with them these past couple days in practice, it feels good. … We’ve had two great days (in practice) getting ready to make our playoff push and ending the season strong.”
The same can be said for New York, which went 11-4 in its past 15 games heading into the break. The Liberty also are looking to sharpen their play for a postseason run.
Guard Sabrina Ionescu said the time between games allowed everyone to refocus.
“We got a lot of really good work in,” Ionescu said. “I think we did really well as a team coming back and, honestly, getting better. I feel like we got better over the break.”
Individually, Ionescu pushed her workouts harder because she knew she did not have to wake up the next morning to prepare for a game.
“Definitely some more aggressive treatment and work that you can’t really do with games being played every other day,” Ionescu said. “… I knew that I had days on end to recover from it and not have to get ready for a game, so that was really nice.”
Breanna Stewart leads the Liberty with 20.4 points per game to go along with 8.1 rebounds. Ionescu ranks second on New York with 15.1 ppg.
The Lynx are led by rookie point guard Olivia Miles with 19.7 points per game. Guard Kayla McBride adds 18.1 ppg, and Collier ranks third with 18.0 ppg in 12 appearances after a delayed start to her season.
Collier said she continues to build strength after returning from offseason ankle surgery.
“I don’t think I’m 100%, but I feel better every game,” Collier said. “I’m continuing to get stronger, working on making sure my power is there and the strength and agility and things like that, so I can be the best version of myself going into the playoffs.”
–Field Level Media
