Olivia Miles came back from injury as strong as ever. Now Napheesa Collier’s return is right around the corner.
Collier won’t play Monday, but the Minnesota Lynx have plenty to be excited about ahead of their game against the Phoenix Mercury in Minneapolis.
The Lynx (17-6), tied with the Las Vegas Aces for the league’s best record, defeated the New York Liberty 90-85 on Saturday for their second straight win and their fourth in the last six games.
Kayla McBride led the team with 25 points, and Miles made an immediate impact in her return from a two-game absence due to a right calf strain. She hit four 3-pointers on her way to 23 points, plus five rebounds and four assists.
“I wasn’t surprised that she got to a space where she figured it out and started putting the ball in the hole,” Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve said of the star rookie. “She goes out there and tries to execute it and doesn’t shy away from the moment. It’s pretty darn special.”
What could be even more special is Miles playing together with Collier, the Lynx’s franchise player who is still working her way back from offseason surgery on both her ankles. The back-to-back MVP runner-up is close to making her season debut, but it won’t be Monday, as the team ruled her out on Sunday’s injury report.
The Mercury (8-16) will try to pull out of a three-game slide after taking their biggest bruising of the season Saturday, a 106-58 loss at Las Vegas. It marked the third-largest margin of defeat in WNBA history.
The Aces made twice as many 3-pointers as the Mercury (14 to seven) and Phoenix mustered only 34.8% shooting overall.
“That was ugly, disappointing, all of the above,” Mercury coach Nate Tibbetts said. “We’re going to find out a lot about us on Monday, see what kind of response we have. Listen, no one’s going to feel sorry for us. We got to compete, and we did not do that at a high enough level, not even close (Saturday).”
Phoenix’s previous largest loss of the season came at home on June 1, 111-77 to Minnesota. Courtney Williams broke out for 30 points for the Lynx that day, while Kahleah Copper had 18 to pace the Mercury.
–Field Level Media
