Rookie Olivia Miles scored 24 of her career-high 31 points in the first half, Natasha Howard added 15 points with nine assists and the visiting Minnesota Lynx closed out Commissioner’s Cup play with a 99-83 victory over the Los Angeles Sparks on Wednesday.
Kayla McBride scored 14 points and Courtney Williams added 13 for the WNBA-best Lynx (12-3), who went 6-1 in Commissioner’s Cup play but just missed out on representing the Western Conference in the title game.
The Lynx needed a victory Wednesday to reach the Cup final, as well as a loss from the Las Vegas Aces, who finished off an 86-76 victory over the Phoenix Mercury.
Miles continues to make a case for WNBA Rookie of the Year while helping to fill the void left by Napheesa Collier, who has yet to play this season because of multiple ankle surgeries. Setting a WNBA first-half rookie record with her 24 points, Miles shot 12 of 15 from the floor and 2 of 3 from 3-point range.
Rae Burrell scored 19 points and Dearica Hamby added 12 points with nine rebounds for the short-handed Sparks, who were without leading scorer Kelsey Plum (leg) as well as Cameron Brink (ankle). The Sparks also lost reserve guard Kate Martin after a first-half knee injury.
Jihyun Park scored a career-high 13 points and Nneka Ogwumike added 10 for Los Angeles (7-8), which went 3-4 in Commissioner’s Cup play and has lost consecutive games following a three-game winning streak.
The Sparks’ defensive woes continued with Minnesota shooting 55.6% from the floor, although they did force 20 turnovers, while committing 19 on their end of the floor.
The Sparks were competitive in the early going behind Burrell, who was starting in place of Plum. Burrell scored 10 points in the opening quarter to help Los Angeles to a 19-18 lead before Minnesota led 23-19 at the end of the period and never trailed again.
The Lynx led by as many as 17 in the second quarter and were up 52-37 at halftime after Miles scored a career high for points in any half.
Minnesota’s advantage reached 20 in the third quarter as the visitors had the game well in hand while leading 74-59 at the start of the fourth. Miles set her career high in points on a layup with 5:25 remaining.
–Field Level Media
