The WNBA All-Star voters got half of it right. Olivia Miles was a lock. The rookie has been electric since day one. Kayla McBride, however, got left out in the cold. It was a baffling snub for a two-time All-Star playing some of the best basketball of her life. On Monday night, they both played like superstars, dragging the Minnesota Lynx back from the brink to edge the Phoenix Mercury 104-100.
They combined for 70 points. McBride went off for a season-high 37, her fourth straight game crossing the 23-point threshold. Miles chipped in 33 of her own, a new career high for the rookie sensation.
Phoenix looked poised to run away with it early in the fourth. An Alyssa Thomas bucket pushed the Mercury lead to 77-69. Then Miles decided she had seen enough. The rookie caught fire, burying three triples in a span of four possessions. The third one snatched an 80-79 lead back for Minnesota.
With the game knotted at 89, McBride took the baton. Miles drove, flipped a gorgeous behind-the-back pass, and McBride drilled the catch-and-shoot three. Phoenix wouldn’t die, tying the game again at 98. But with 43.4 seconds left on the clock, Miles found McBride in the corner. Splash. Another three, and the Lynx never looked back.
McBride was absurdly efficient. She shot 11-of-17 from the floor, 6-of-11 from deep, and a perfect 9-of-9 from the stripe, adding six boards, four steals, and two blocks. Miles was just as lethal, pairing her 33 points with eight assists while shooting 10-of-16.
Minnesota is now 18-6. They hold the best record in the league. The scary part? They are doing this without Napheesa Collier, last year’s MVP runner-up, who is still recovering from offseason ankle surgeries. Collier is practicing again and her return is imminent. The rest of the league should be terrified.
