Lynx Edge Sun 101-89, Miles Sets Rookie Scoring Record
Napheesa Collier steadied the ball in her hands, Olivia Miles carved up another defense, and the Minnesota Lynx took one more stride toward owning the entire postseason.
Collier poured in 23 points, Miles added 21, and the Lynx beat the Connecticut Sun 101-89 on Sunday, pushing themselves to the brink of clinching the WNBA’s top seed. Minnesota, now 32-10, needs just one more win — or a Golden State loss — to lock up home-court advantage all the way through the Finals. They finish with a home-and-home against Indiana, and they’ll enter that series looking very much like a team that expects to be hosting games in late September.
Miles passes Clark, Lynx punch first
So much of that confidence flows from Miles. The rookie guard didn’t just score; she made league history. With a free throw at the 9:31 mark of the second quarter, Miles reached 770 points on the season, breaking Caitlin Clark’s WNBA rookie scoring record of 769 set earlier this year for Indiana. Another night, another milestone in a debut campaign that has reshaped the Lynx’s ceiling.
Minnesota arrived in Connecticut on a three-game skid, but any lingering doubt vanished almost immediately. The Lynx ripped off an 11-2 start in the first 3:30, with Collier claiming the game’s first four points and setting the tone. Former Sun guard Courtney Williams, back on a familiar floor, chipped in five points during that early burst.
By the end of the opening quarter, the visitors led 27-12. Collier already had 10, controlling the game inside and out while Minnesota’s defense smothered a Sun team that has spent much of the season playing uphill.
The gap kept widening. Collier’s layup with 3:44 left in the half stretched the lead to 45-26, and the Lynx looked ready to cruise. Connecticut, though, refused to let the afternoon turn into a procession. A 15-4 Sun run carved the deficit down to single digits, the crowd finally finding its voice.
Collier silenced it again. Her three-point play with 25.2 seconds left in the half pushed Minnesota back into double digits at the break, a reminder of who controlled the game’s biggest moments.
Sun rain threes, but Lynx hold firm
Connecticut stayed alive from long range. The Sun drilled 12 of their first 19 attempts from beyond the arc, repeatedly punishing any defensive lapse and slicing into Minnesota’s lead. Early in the fourth quarter, they had dragged the margin down to just seven, 101-89 suddenly feeling a long way off.
The barrage never fully stopped. Connecticut finished 15-for-28 from deep, the kind of shooting performance that usually flips a game. It didn’t. Minnesota’s early cushion, Collier’s composure, and Miles’ relentless pressure with the ball proved enough to absorb every punch.
For the Sun, now 10-32 and on a five-game losing streak, this was another night where effort and shot-making couldn’t quite cover for a season riddled with injuries. The blows kept coming: Saniya Rivers went down in the first quarter and did not return, another key piece lost in a year that has rarely offered a full-strength roster.
A night for Mike Thibault, and a franchise in transition
The result unfolded against a backdrop of nostalgia and transition. Before tipoff, the Sun honored former head coach Mike Thibault in what was the franchise’s second-to-last home game in Connecticut before relocating to Houston next season.
Thibault, who guided the team from its inception in 2003 through 2012, helped build the identity of the franchise in this market. Sunday felt like a reunion built around his legacy. Former Sun stars Tina Charles, Bria Hartley, Taj McWilliams-Franklin and former coach Nicki Collen were among those in attendance, a roll call of names tied to the franchise’s best years.
The tribute carried an extra layer of symmetry. On the opposite bench sat his son, Eric Thibault, now an assistant coach with Minnesota, working alongside Lynx legend Lindsay Whalen. Whalen herself reached the WNBA Finals in 2004 under Mike Thibault in a Sun jersey. On this night, she and Eric helped orchestrate a win that pushed Minnesota toward the top seed, on the very floor where so much of that shared history began.
The Sun will close out their Connecticut chapter with one more home game before the move to Houston. The Lynx, meanwhile, board a plane with everything in front of them.
Next up: Minnesota heads to Indiana on Tuesday with a chance to officially wrap up the No. 1 seed. Connecticut travels to face the Mystics the same night, still chasing a cleaner ending to a bruising season.
