The Minnesota Lynx’s dominance was on display Saturday with a 111-58 victory over the Las Vegas Aces, but the historic win was mitigated by forward Napheesa Collier leaving the game with a right ankle injury.
Collier twisted her ankle after inadvertently colliding with teammate Alanna Smith under the basket on a rebound attempt with 10.8 seconds remaining in the third quarter and the Lynx up by 43 points. An emotional Collier remained down on the floor at Michelob ULTRA Arena in Las Vegas and was surrounded by players from both teams before unsuccessfully attempting to stand on her own.
Collier was able to walk off the court with assistance and went to the locker room. She was ruled out the remainder of the game with a right ankle injury, finishing with 18 points, five assists, three rebounds and two steals in the largest road win in WNBA history.
Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve said it’s ‘just way too early’ to provide an injury update for Collier following the win, but noted that the five-time All-Star will undergo imaging and evaluations per team protocol.
Reeve added, ‘We’ll worry until we know more.’
Collier scored 14 of her 18 points in the third quarter before she got injured. The Lynx had amassed such a large lead that Aces coach Becky Hammon pulled her starters with 5:22 seconds remaining in the third as the Aces trailed by 33 points.
When asked if Lynx starter should have been pulled earlier in the game, Reeve said, ‘No.’
‘It’s the third quarter of a game on someone else’s floor. I don’t think the game is over. I don’t think like that. (Collier) had a sub there and she wasn’t going to play the fourth quarter. Sometimes these things happen,’ Reeve said postgame. ‘I get it. People are going to rail on me and that’s part of sitting in the seat that I’m sitting in. We did what we think was right. Sometimes these things happen and it’s unfortunate and hopefully she will be OK.’
Minnesota win by 53 points is the second biggest blowout in WNBA history, second only to the Lynx’s 59-point victory over the Indiana Fever on Aug. 18, 2017.
Kayla McBride finished with a team-high 24 points after starting 8-of-8 from 3-point range. Minnesota finished with a franchise-high 17 3-pointers in the win, with two coming from Collier.
‘You hate to see anyone go down, especially your MVP,’ McBride said. ‘When we see Phee go down, we see Phee the person before the basketball player. Just wishing the best for her. Speedy recovery. We just want her to be healthy. She’s had such an amazing season and she’s just so impactful for us on both ends of the floor.’
McBride said Collier was ‘in good spirits’ in the locker room.
Collier is the MVP frontrunner. She’s averaging a career-high and league-leading 23.8 points through 25 games. The reigning Defensive Player of the Year also ranks among the top five in the league in steals (1.8 per game) and blocks (1.7 per game).
Minnesota faces Seattle (Aug. 5) and Washington (Aug. 8) before three consecutive games against the Liberty (Aug. 10, 16 and 19.)
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