July 12 - Minnesota Lynx vs Phoenix Mercury Post Game Notes
July 12, 2022 - Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA)
Minnesota Lynx News Release
Lynx Notes
For the third consecutive game this season, Aerial Powers led the way for the Lynx, finishing with a career-high 35 points on 13-of-24 shooting, including 3-of-7 from deep. Marking her second 30+ point game this season, Powers connected on 13 field goals, tying the individual single-game high throughout the league and puts her over the 500-career made field goal threshold. Both her 13 field goals made and the 24 field goals attempted also mark a new Lynx individual high.
Powers tallied her third double-double of the season (fifth career) with career-highs of 35 points and 13 rebounds. Her 35 points are the most points scored by a Minnesota player this season and the second most scored by any WNBA player season, just two points shy of Arike Ogunbowale who scored 37 points on May 19. Powers scored 10 of her 35 points in the first quarter, marking her third straight game with 10+ points in the first quarter (fourth this season).
In a career-high 37:03 minutes of action, Powers added 13 rebounds, three assists and two steals. With her 10th rebound of the night, Powers hit the 500 career rebounds mark (currently 503).
With 31:05 minutes of action off the bench, Rachel Banham ended tonight with a season-high 25 points on 8-of-14 shooting, including a season-high-tying 6-of-9 from deep. She led Minnesota with a season-high seven assists and grabbed three rebounds. This makes the second game this season Banham has connected on six from deep and had a 20+ point performance (July 1 vs Las Vegas).
Kayla McBride tallied 17 points, on 4-of-12 shooting from the field and a perfect 9-of-9 from the free throw line, four rebounds and a season-high five assists. She is now fourth in the league in free throw percentage with 91.0% on 61-of-67. McBride is one of six players in the league who shot 100% from the free throw line (Min. 8 FTM), with 5+ assists and 15+ points.
Collecting her fifth career double-double, Jessica Shepard contributed 13 points on 6-of-8 shooting and 12 rebounds. She dished out four assists and grabbed two steals. Shepard ranks second in the league in total rebounds with 199 (behind A'ja Wilson's 236).
Sylvia Fowles finished with 14 points and 14 rebounds, her eighth double-double this season (187 career).
For the first game this season, Napheesa Collier joined the bench since giving birth to her daughter Mila in May.
Team Notes
The Lynx tallied a league-high 118 points in 50 minutes of play, marking the first over-time game for Minnesota this season (second for Phoenix) and the first game in the WNBA this season to go into double-overtime.
For the first time in franchise history, the Minnesota Lynx had three different players record double-doubles in a single game (Powers, Fowles and Shepard). This is just the eighth time in WNBA history a team has had three players register point/rebound double-doubles in the same game.
Minnesota has now won the last 19 of 22 regular season meetings against Phoenix, dating back to August 2015. The Mercury now fall to 0-2 this season at Target Center and fall to 2-4 in their last six visits to Minneapolis.
The Lynx held the Mercury to 37-of-100 shooting from the field (37%) improving the Lynx record to 139-5 when holding their opponent to less than 40% shooting from the field since the beginning of 2011. This marks the third consecutive game where Minnesota has held their opponent under 40%.
Minnesota's bench outscored Phoenix's bench 42-13, marking the fourth consecutive game and the fifth game in the last six that the Lynx bench outscored their opponent. Banham and Shepard combined for 38 points for Minnesota.
The Lynx are now 93-9 since the start of 2011 when outrebounding their opponents by 10 or more. Tonight, Minnesota held a season-best 55 rebounding edge to Phoenix's 44 boards, the Lynx's sixth double-digit spread over an opponent this season. The Lynx have outrebounded their opponent in 17 of 24 games this season and have the highest rebound per game percentage in the league (37.7).
Minnesota tallied a season-high 50 points in the paint on 25-of-45 shooting, bringing the season total to 890 paint points (second most in the league behind Chicago).
The Lynx registered 17 second-chance points, bringing the season total to a league-best 288 second chance points.
In tonight's double-overtime contest, there were 25 lead changes, the most lead changes in WNBA history since June 18, 2016, when Phoenix hosted Dallas and had 29 lead changes. Additionally, tonight's game featured 19 ties, which ties the most in a regular-season game in league history (last happening Sept. 8, 2019, when Phoenix hosted Las Vegas).
The Lynx conclude their longest-tying home stance (six games) on Thursday, July 14 against the Dallas Wings. Tipoff is slated for 7:00 p.m. CT and will broadcast on Bally Sports North Extra and on Twitter @WNBA.
Mercury Notes
Sophie Cunningham led Phoenix with a game-high 36 points on 13-of-20 shooting from the field, seven rebounds, five steal and two assists in a 47:16 minutes of action.
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