Rookie star Olivia Miles didn’t miss a beat in her return from a calf injury, scoring 23 points and propelling the Minnesota Lynx to a 90-85 victory over the New York Liberty Saturday afternoon in Minneapolis.
Miles made four 3-pointers and Kayla McBride made five as she lit up the scoreboard for a team-high 25 points as the Lynx (17-6) won their second straight.
Natasha Howard (16) and Courtney Williams (12) finished in double figures as well.
A valiant comeback effort fell short for the Liberty (13-10) despite 25 points from Sabrina Ionescu. Breanna Stewart scored 17, Jonquel Jones finished with a double-double of 15 points and 12 rebounds while Marine Johannes chipped in 14 as New York, which has lost two straight.
Up 42-32 at halftime, Minnesota kept things rolling in its favor in the third, using an 8-0 run for a 54-39 lead with 5:41 to go. Three-pointers from Miles and Howard highlighted the run.
But with 2:07 left in the quarter, the Liberty pulled with 56-54 thanks to a 15-2 run, with back-to-back 3-pointers from Johannes pulling New York within two.
The Liberty got their first lead of the half at 59-58 on a couple of free throws from Ionescu with 54 seconds to go and had a one-point edge going into the fourth.
The Lynx took the lead back with 8:18 left on two free throws from Miles, making it 66-65, but Johannes hit a 3-pointer to put the Liberty back on top.
Howard’s two free throws gave Minnesota a 74-72 edge with 6:13 to go.
New York could have tied the game at 81-81 with 3:05 left but Jones split two free throws and McBride went on to hit a 3-pointer to push the Lynx back up 84-80 with 2:43 remaining. Minnesota never looked back.
The Lynx missed nine of their first 10 shots and trailed 11-5 before flipping the momentum in their favor, closing the opening quarter on a 12-2 run.
Williams sparked the burst with a jumper at the 3:29 mark and Howard put an exclamation point on it, scoring as time expired for a 17-13 lead.
The run carried into the second quarter as Antonia Delaere knocked down an open 3-pointer for a 20-13 advantage with 8:48 to play in the half.
Miles punctuated the half with a couple of 3-pointers, her last coming with one second remaining as she shot over a defender and got the ball to fall through the net, giving Minnesota a 10-point lead at the half.
–Field Level Media
