Kayla McBride is fresh off a contest in which she established a career high with 43 points and set a WNBA record with 10 3-point baskets.
That makes for one hard act to follow as McBride and the Minnesota Lynx visit the Portland Fire on Wednesday night.
Minnesota (27-7) also became the first team to clinch a playoff spot with Sunday’s 103-90 home victory over the Dallas Wings. The Lynx have won 12 of their past 13 games.
McBride knocked down 10 of 14 3-point attempts while passing the old mark of nine treys in a game. She was 16 of 21 overall while moving over 6,000 career points. The 34-year-old stands 18th all-time with 6,013 points after the most prolific game of her career.
“When you have a good moment, you just soak it all in,” McBride told reporters. “I’m just very grateful. It’s my 13th year in the league, and I’m exactly where I want to be. I’m so grateful to the city of Minneapolis.
“Once I saw the first couple go down … now I’m just kind of in the zone.”
McBride, who is in her sixth season with the Lynx, averages a career-best 18.3 points and ranks second in the WNBA with 100 3-point baskets. Her career high of 105 treys came in 2024 and she made 103 last season.
Meanwhile, star rookie point guard Olivia Miles continues to excel and leads Minnesota with 20.0 points and 6.1 assists per game. Miles had 20 points and a career-best 13 assists against Dallas.
The Lynx won the first two of the season’s three meetings with Portland. Both were in Minneapolis.
Minnesota rolled to a 107-74 demolition of the Fire on June 15, while McBride scored 24 points in a 101-93 victory on July 18.
The Fire (13-19) have won back-to-back games, beating the Toronto Tempo 97-83 on Thursday and the Seattle Storm 100-93 on Saturday. Portland is 2-2 on a five-game homestand.
Bridget Carleton scored 24 points and made four treys in the victory over Seattle. Carleton posted 24 or more points in three of the past four games.
Carleton was the first player Portland chose in the expansion draft, plucking her away from the Lynx. She has blossomed with a career-best 14.6 scoring average and ranks fifth with 90 3-pointers.
“It’s the beauty of expansion,” Carleton said after the victory over the Storm. “We just have more opportunity with this team and we have been put in really good positions by a coach that believes in us and sees what we can do at this level.”
Fire leading scorer Carla Leite (sprained left knee) exited the Seattle game after four minutes and she was listed as questionable Tuesday evening. Leite (15.5 ppg) also leads Portland with 6.2 assists per game.
–Field Level Media
