It took about half a season, but the Minnesota Lynx appear to have found their winning formula.
With Napheesa Collier leading the way, Minnesota will aim for a four-game winning streak when it faces the Indiana Fever on Wednesday night in Minneapolis.
But as Saturday night’s 86-76 win against the Phoenix Mercury shows, the Lynx (7-9) have gotten significant contributions from players other than Collier, who has averaged 26.7 points per game during the recent run of success.
Take rookie Diamond Miller, for example. With Collier limited to 16 points after consecutive 30-point outbursts against Seattle, Miller delivered 25 points, six rebounds and five steals against the Mercury. That made her the first Minnesota rookie to post 25, five and five in a game since Maya Moore.
Miller did much of her damage with a step-through scoop shot in the lane that has drawn the notice of veterans like guard Rachel Banham.
“It’s definitely her signature move, that little scoop shot,” Banham said.
Miller is averaging 14.3 points per game, second on the team behind Collier’s 22.0. Collier, who will play in next weekend’s All-Star Game, is also averaging 7.8 rebounds, 1.8 steals and 1.3 blocks per game.
Meanwhile, Indiana (5-11) enters Wednesday on a four-game losing streak, including Sunday’s 89-87 defeat at home against Chicago. The Fever allowed 54 first-half points, then couldn’t come up with a stop after tying the game at 87, permitting the game-winner by Courtney Williams in the final 20 seconds.
First-time All-Star Kelsey Mitchell, who poured in 26 points, termed the team’s performance “soft as hell.”
“It’s like nobody felt us,” she said. “It was just too easy and everything for us was hard. And for us to even be in the conversation for playoffs and for y’all to even come in here after our games, we got to compete. And we didn’t. And there’s no excuse for it.”
Defense has been the major issue for Indiana lately. It has permitted 90.8 points per game during its skid.
On Tuesday afternoon, the Fever traded center Queen Egbo, the 10th overall pick in the 2022 WNBA Draft, to the Washington Mystics in exchange for veteran center Amanda Zahui B.
The Fever won 71-69 in the teams’ first meeting last month in Minneapolis, getting 22 points from Mitchell.
–Field Level Media
