Kayla McBride was mid-answer when a familiar voice cut through the room, and it belonged to her teammate, Olivia Miles, who wasn’t even supposed to be sitting there.
Minnesota had just closed out a 77-66 win over Golden State on Wednesday, and reporters gathered around McBride to ask about her late-game “night night” celebration, Steph Curry’s signature gesture, delivered inside Curry’s own building at Chase Center. Before McBride could finish, rookie Miles slid into the front row and posed her own question like she belonged on the other side of the microphone.
“Mac, what made you do the ‘night-night’ celebration after that last three?” Miles asked.
McBride laughed her off first.
“If you were here for the entire thing, I would have already said that,” she said, before actually answering. “Steph Curry is my favorite player. You know, obviously in this house, I’ve been to Oracle, I’ve watched the Warriors over the years. And, you know, it’s just a competitive moment, taking advantage of it. I thought it was a moment that really broke the game. Two minutes left, I think it put us up 11.”
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She kept going, tying the celebration to a career milestone from the same shot.
“I also knew that I moved up and I passed Becky,” McBride said, referring to Becky Hammon on the WNBA’s all-time 3-point list. “So I just kind of, just a blooper moment. I don’t know, I can’t explain it. It just kind of came out of me. Enjoyed it.”
Miles wasn’t done needling her. “So inspirational,” she said. “I just love you.”
“I love you so much,” McBride shot back.
The exchange capped a night that could have gone very differently for Minnesota. Miles turned her ankle late in the fourth quarter after stepping on Napheesa Collier’s foot, and she needed a couple of minutes on the floor before making her way to the bench under her own power. Coach Cheryl Reeve had little to offer afterward beyond hope.
“She did tweak it, but I don’t have any idea where it’s at,” Reeve said. “I haven’t seen the play yet. Obviously we’re hoping that she’s OK.”
Olivia Miles Made Sure Her Ankle Scare Didn’t Steal The Spotlight
That’s what made her appearance at the podium feel like such a relief. Miles walked to the locker room afterward without shoes on, putting only light pressure on the ankle, but she was clearly comfortable enough to crash a press conference and trade jokes with a teammate minutes later.
The performance that preceded the injury only raised the stakes. Miles finished with 20 points, seven assists and five rebounds on 8-of-10 shooting before exiting, numbers that continue a rookie season already stacked with milestones. She entered the night with a WNBA rookie record for 3-pointers in a single game and an All-Star nod earned as just the ninth first-year player in league history to start the showcase.
McBride matched her with 20 points of her own, while Napheesa Collier added 18 points and eight rebounds as Minnesota improved to a league-best 30-7. The Lynx have now won 15 of their last 16 games and remain undefeated against Golden State across nine all-time meetings, a streak the Valkyries have yet to find an answer for.
Minnesota gets a chance to extend that mark Monday when the two teams meet again in Minneapolis. If Miles is sidelined at all, it likely won’t be for long given how she moved around the locker room hours after the injury. And if her ankle holds up the way her sense of humor did Wednesday night, the Lynx will have both their steadiest veteran and their most electric rookie ready for whatever the playoffs bring.
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