Olivia Miles scored a career-high 28 points and set a WNBA rookie record with eight 3-pointers as the Minnesota Lynx beat the Golden State Valkyries 87-84 on Thursday night for their sixth straight win.
MINNEAPOLIS — Olivia Miles didn’t just break out. She delivered the kind of night that changes how a rookie is talked about—especially in crunch time.
Miles finished with a career-high 28 points and set a WNBA rookie record by making eight 3-pointers as the Minnesota Lynx held off the Golden State Valkyries 87-84 on Thursday night for their sixth straight victory.
Her shooting line told the story early and stayed loud all night: Miles went 8 of 11 from 3-point range. surpassing Caitlin Clark and Crystal Robinson. who previously shared the rookie mark with seven. She hit her fifth consecutive 3-pointer with 6:24 remaining in the first half to reach 17 points. while the rest of her teammates totaled just 14. She added her first two 3s of the third quarter as the Lynx kept building momentum.
Minnesota entered the game at 8-2 and extended a dominant edge over Golden State. improving to 7-0 all-time against a franchise that joined the league last season as an expansion team. The Lynx weren’t always in control, though. They trailed 75-70 with seven minutes left before scoring the next 11 points.
That late surge carried into the final minutes. Golden State pulled within 86-84 with 33.8 seconds remaining, and Courtney Williams took the ball down the clock before finding Miles. Miles drove to the basket for a layup that rolled off the rim. Minnesota came up with the offensive rebound. and Williams went 1 of 2 from the foul line to stretch it to a three-point lead with 5.4 seconds left.
From there, the finish tightened further. An inadvertent whistle led to a jump ball, and Golden State forward Cecilia Zandalasini secured the possession with 3.8 seconds left. After a timeout, Zandalasini attempted a contested 3-pointer at the buzzer, but didn’t hit the rim.
Miles’ historic night landed alongside support that made the difference. Williams scored 17 points, Kayla McBride added 14, and Natasha Howard finished with 12 points and 10 rebounds for Minnesota. The Lynx made 13 of 26 from distance.
Golden State was led by Zandalasini with 18 points. Janelle Salaun knocked down five 3-pointers and scored 17, while Tiffany Hayes added 15 points.
The road doesn’t stop for either team. Golden State next plays at Las Vegas on Saturday. Minnesota continues a three-game homestand on Saturday against Seattle.
Olivia Miles Minnesota Lynx Golden State Valkyries WNBA rookie record eight threes 87-84 Courtney Williams Janelle Salaun Cecilia Zandalasini Natasha Howard Kayla McBride
8 threes is wild… who knew rookies could do that lol
Wait so she missed a layup at the end but it still counted as clutch? I didn’t watch the whole thing, just saw the highlight. Lynx always do good against teams that just joined right?
They said rookie record but I thought Caitlin Clark already had that? Unless they mean the record for like 3s in a single game or something. Also that whistle/jump ball at the end sounds like NBA refs chaos but for WNBA, weird
I swear these games are always close and then one questionable call decides everything. Olivia Miles was going off though, 8 of 11 from 3??? okay. And Golden State only down 3 like, 33 seconds left, that’s insane… but then the buzzer shot didn’t even hit the rim so that’s probably why everyone’s mad? Not sure lol