Olivia Miles Breaks Caitlin Clark's WNBA Rookie Scoring Record
· Yahoo Sports
Olivia Miles made a free throw 29 seconds into the second quarter on Sunday at Mohegan Sun Arena, passing Caitlin Clark for the WNBA record for points by a rookie in a season. The Minnesota Lynx went on to beat the Connecticut Sun 101-89.
Miles entered the game tied with Clark at 769 points. She finished with 21 points, 3 rebounds, 6 assists, and 2 steals, which puts her season total at 790.
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Clark set the mark with the Indiana Fever in 2024, passing the 744 points Seimone Augustus scored as a rookie in 2006. Augustus played 34 games that season. Miles and Clark each reached the record in 40 games.
Miles went scoreless in the first quarter. She shot 7-of-10 from the field and 6-of-6 from the free-throw line.
Collier and Howard Lead Minnesota
Napheesa Collier scored the game's first four points as Minnesota opened on an 11-2 run, and the Lynx led 27-12 after the first quarter. Collier finished with 23 points on 9-of-16 shooting, and Natasha Howard had 18 points and 11 rebounds. Kayla McBride added 14 points and 6 assists. Courtney Williams, who spent five seasons with the Sun, scored 11.
Gianna Kneepkens, Leila Lacan, and Diamond Miller scored 15 points apiece for Connecticut, which shot 15-of-28 from 3-point range. Sunday was the Lynx's last trip to Uncasville before the Sun relocate to Houston and become the Comets.
The record came in Minnesota's first win since Aug. 21. The Lynx had lost to Golden State, Atlanta, and New York, most recently a 93-81 home loss to the Liberty on Friday.
"It's special, but it means we're more so working well as a team. I have great teammates around me, great vets who allow me to be me out there," Miles said. "It wouldn't be possible without one, a coach that believes in you and then two, having teammates that have my back."
"So it's really special to obviously be able to accomplish that with such a great team and on a win as well," Miles continued.
Miles' Other Rookie Records
Miles came into Sunday averaging 19.7 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 6.0 assists. The second overall pick in this year's draft played college basketball at Notre Dame and TCU.
On June 4, Miles hit eight 3-pointers in a win over the Golden State Valkyries, the most by a rookie in a WNBA game and one more than Clark's best. She also became the fastest rookie to reach 350 points, 100 rebounds, and 100 assists, doing it in 21 games. Clark and former Charlotte Sting guard Andrea Stinson each needed 22.
Race for the No. 1 Seed
Minnesota improved to 32-10, the best record in the league. Golden State is 31-11. One more Lynx win or one Valkyries loss clinches the No. 1 seed for Minnesota.
The Lynx close the regular season with two games against Clark and the Fever, at Indiana on Tuesday at 8 p.m. ET and at home Thursday. The playoffs begin Sept. 27.