Kayla McBride Did Something No WNBA Player Has Ever Done in a Win Over Phoenix

The Minnesota Lynx have been rolling, but Tuesday night’s 104-100 comeback win over the Phoenix Mercury might be their most impressive WNBA statement yet. And it came on the back of a stat line that literally never existed before in league history.

Kayla McBride finished with 37 points, six rebounds, four steals, two blocks and six three-pointers. According to StatMuse, she’s the first player ever to post that exact combination of numbers in a WNBA game. Go ahead and check the record books. They’ll tell you the same thing.

McBride shot 11-of-17 from the field and 6-of-11 from deep. It wasn’t just efficient. It was necessary. The Lynx trailed by six heading into the fourth quarter after losing the first quarter 27-21 and the third 26-19. Without McBride’s historic night, this comeback probably doesn’t happen.

Olivia Miles matched the moment

If you only looked at the box score, you might think it was a two-player show for Minnesota. And you’d be right. Olivia Miles dropped 33 points, eight assists and three rebounds on 10-of-16 shooting. That’s the kind of night that makes you forget the rest of the roster struggled.

Outside of McBride and Miles, only Natasha Howard reached double figures with 13 points and seven assists. She went 5-of-11 from the field. The bench? Eliska Hamzova had eight points. Nobody else scored. At all. That’s a problem the Lynx will need to address, but on this night, it didn’t matter.

Phoenix had its own star power. Kahleah Copper returned and led the Mercury with 26 points and three rebounds on 9-of-14 shooting. Alyssa Thomas stuffed the stat sheet with 19 points, 12 assists and eight rebounds. Monique Akoa Makani added 17 points and four assists. It was a team effort on paper, but defense was another story.

The Mercury gave up 104 points on a night when their own offense was clicking. That’s the kind of loss that stings because you did enough to win — just not enough to stop the other team’s best players.

McBride delivered in the clutch

What made this performance special wasn’t just the volume of points or the historic stat line. It was when McBride got them. Down the stretch, with the game hanging in the balance, she hit big shots. Multiple times. The kind of buckets that make you stand up and text your friends.

The Lynx are 15-5 now and sitting near the top of the WNBA standings. If they keep getting these kinds of nights from their stars — and figure out how to get more from the bench — they’re going to be a problem in the playoffs. But Tuesday belonged to McBride. She made history. And she won a game doing it.