Olivia Miles broke Caitlin Clark's WNBA record for points by a rookie in a season on Sunday in the Minnesota Lynx's 101-89 victory over the Connecticut Sun.
Miles, who finished with 21 points, was tied with Clark at 769 points coming into the game and moved atop the list when she made a free throw in the second quarter. The Lynx rookie came into the game averaging 19.7 points, 6.0 assists and 4.7 rebounds, and was a big reason the team had the best record in the WNBA.
"It's special, but it more so means that we're doing well as a team," Miles said after the game. "I have great teammates around me and great vets who allow me to be me out there. It wouldn't be possible without, one a coach who believes in you, and then two teammates who have my back for anything. And so, it's really special to obviously be able to accomplish that and then do it with such a great team. And on a win as well, it's really special."
Miles was 7 of 10 from the field and made all six of her free-throw attempts. The All-Star guard, who was selected second in the draft after playing her college ball at Notre Dame and TCU, got off to a slow start against the Sun, going scoreless in the first quarter. Her record-breaking free throw came 29 seconds into the second quarter.
Miles and Clark both accomplished their feats in 40 games.
The Lynx star already had broken a couple of rookie records held by Clark. She hit eight 3-pointers in a win over Golden State on June 4 to set the league record for most by a rookie in a game. That was one more than Clark's best. Miles also became the fastest rookie to reach 350 points, 100 rebounds and 100 assists in her career, doing it in 21 games — one quicker than Clark and former Charlotte Sting guard Andrea Stinson.
Meanwhile, the Lynx got a win after their first real losing streak of the season, losing three straight sandwiched around the FIBA World Cup break that the league took for international play.
The Lynx win Sunday (32-10) moved within one win or Golden State loss from earning home-court advantage throughout the postseason.
"I haven't really done it, don't really know what it feels like, don't really know like the intensity and pressure," Miles added. "Like, I can feel it, but I truly don't have like great perspective on it yet. But as these games are happening down the stretch, and we need wins to secure the first seed, or we need to play well and make sure that we're heading in the right direction into the playoffs, I'm sort of feeling that urgency and it's been cool to kind of lean into."
That losing streak has their coach, Cheryl Reeve, adding to the pressure as well. She lit into her team after losing to New York at home Friday, and what was kind of a sluggish effort Sunday against lowly Connecticut.
"I think we started the game with some connectivity and some communication. They were really on it, I felt how locked in they were," Reeve said postgame. "But like, you go through a game and there's ebbs and flows, and Connecticut got a little more aggressive. I thought we played selfish basketball at times. They're not selfish people, but it's nonsensical, the stuff that we do that we won't just get off the ball and move it. When we do that, you know, it's generally our best possessions, true for any team."
Minnesota closes with a home-and-home set against Indiana, starting on the road Tuesday.
