Minnesota Lynx forward Napheesa Collier left Saturday’s eventual 111-58 victory over the Las Vegas Aces late in the third quarter after suffering a right ankle injury and did not return.
Minnesota coach Cheryl Reeve did not have an immediate update on Collier’s status postgame, saying only that Collier will undergo further imaging and testing.
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“I’m excited for the way that our team played, the way that we showed up today, and I’m also obviously concerned about Napheesa Collier,” Reeve said. “We’ll worry. We’ll worry until we know more. There’s no way around it. I can be both happy for our team and worried. Hoping for the best.”
Minnesota’s 53-point margin is the second-largest in WNBA history and is the largest margin of victory for a team on the road. The Houston Comets previously set the road margin of victory record (45) in 1998, according to Across the Timeline.
Collier’s injury occurred with just under 30 seconds remaining in the third quarter as she attempted to bring in an offensive rebound with Minnesota leading by 43 points. Collier was visibly in pain after suffering the injury as she walked off the court toward the locker room with assistance. She did not return to the bench in the fourth quarter, though guard Kayla McBride said that Collier was in “good spirits” in the locker room afterward.
“The third quarter of a game on someone else’s floor, I don’t think the game is over,” said Reeve, when asked if she regretted not taking Collier out earlier. “I don’t think like that. She had a sub there, and she wasn’t going to play in the fourth quarter. Sometimes these things happen, and I get it, people are gonna rail on me, and that’s part of sitting in the seat that I’m sitting in. We did what we think is right, and sometimes these things happen. Unfortunate, and hopefully she’ll be okay.”
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The Aces scored the game’s first basket, but trailed throughout the remainder of the game. Collier finished with 18 points and three rebounds in 26 minutes. McBride led Minnesota with 24 points and became the only player in WNBA history to make eight 3s on 100 percent shooting in a half.
The Lynx defeated the Aces by 31 points on July 25. On Saturday, in an even more lopsided result, four Minnesota players scored at least 15 points. No Aces player scored more than 12 points. Only Jewell Loyd and A’ja Wilson finished in double-figures as coach Becky Hammon relied on her bench for most of the second half.
Collier is averaging 23.8 points and 7.7 rebounds per game. Not only is she the MVP front-runner, but her injury comes as Minnesota continues to widen the gap in league standings between itself and the WNBA’s other 12 teams. The Lynx moved to 24-5 with the victory and have a six-game lead on the No. 2 New York Liberty.
The Liberty, who are without star forward Breanna Stewart as she deals with a right knee injury, have a half-game lead on the No. 3 Atlanta Dream. Only 1 1/2 games separate New York and the sixth-seeded Seattle Storm.
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Minnesota travels to Seattle to play the Storm on Tuesday, Aug. 5. The Lynx then play Washington and three consecutive games against the Liberty.
“I thought we put a great 40 minutes together. Obviously, you hate to see anybody go down, but especially your MVP,” McBride said. “We just wish the best for (Collier). 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, but more than anything, we just want (Collier), the human being, to be okay.”
This article originally appeared in The Athletic.
Minnesota Lynx, WNBA
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