The hype surrounding the 2024 WNBA Finals rematch was plastered everywhere on social media. This go around it would look different as New York was without Breanna Stewart who’s nursing an injury and they added Natasha Cloud as their point guard. The Minnesota Lynx came back this season with their core and are on pace to wreck the whole WNBA with their dominant play from the MVP front runner Napheesa Collier.
The Minnesota Lynx were able to showcase what exactly happens when all of their All-Stars are playing at an elite level. Courtney Williams didn’t have it going with her jump shot tonight but she impacted the game in so many other ways defensively and offensively. Courtney finished with tying her career high in assists with 13 as she was a master in the pick n roll and was able to find people in the right places on some nasty dimes that she dropped. What’s not always spoken about is the fact that Courtney’s one of the best point guards when it comes to rebounding as she was able to grab 9 rebounds against the Liberty. The way that Williams knows how to control the pace of the game and make the right play at the right moment has been clutch for Minnesota.
Napheesa Collier and Kayla McBride were spectacular tonight as they were able to put the team on their backs. The two All-Stars combined for 54 of the 100 points that they scored against New York. Napheesa was having her way in the paint with her footwork and being able to knock down the 3 pointer when the Liberty gave it to her. Every time the Liberty were trying to make a run it was Napheesa Collier who was able to help the Lynx pull away. Kayla McBride was hitting shot after shot as she was locked in on both ends as she was also helping Carleton defend Sabrina Ionescu. KMac’s contribution tonight was hugely needed as the Lynx needed all 8 of the field goals that she was able to make.
Jessica Shepard came in the game and showed her dominance in the paint asap. Jess only played 16 minutes and she had 8 points, 3 assists, and 9 rebounds. She took advantage of that Liberty second unit and made them pay. Natisha Hiedeman had 10 points that were clutch with 8 of them coming on her own 8-0 run late in the game. When Natisha plays with this confidence in her game it’s tough for anyone to match the Lynx player for player.
The Liberty tried to come back late in the game as Sabrina went nuts in the 4th quarter and finished with 31 points. It will be interesting to see how things play out with a healthy Liberty team but they fought back tonight as Jones wasn’t able to get going like she usually does against opponents. These teams will be playing against each other a couple more times in the coming week or so as things line up for a late playoff push.
The Lynx have been the clear favorite in the WNBA this season and have stepped up their game for every team that tries to test them on a nightly basis.
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