The Phoenix Mercury are set for a rematch against the Minnesota Lynx on Friday after the Lynx cruised to a 95-71 victory on May 31.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Not only did Minnesota receive 50 points from its bench, but star Napheesa Collier recorded a double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds. So far this season, the 2019 WNBA Rookie of the Year has started in all nine games for the Lynx, averaging 21.8 points, 11.0 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game.
Notching a double-double in six games thus far, Collier is having a career year in her sixth season while there is not much mention of just how good she has been from the majority of the WNBA world.
Giving her the recognition she deserves, one of the few players in the league from Collier’s home state of Missouri, Mercury guard/forward Sophie Cunningham, praised Collier for what she has done and continues to do.
“I think she is a great player, she’s a phenomenal player,” Cunningham said. “They [Minnesota] have a great system, everything goes through her… She has always been a great player, left-hand dominant but people still can’t seem to stop her. Give her all the credit, hopefully we can do a good job on her tomorrow night. She’s from Missouri, been playing against her my whole life. So to see her at this level being successful is pretty cool.”
"I have been playing against her my whole life, so to see her at this level being successful is pretty cool."
Phoenix Mercury's Sophie Cunningham (@sophaller) praised Minnesota Lynx star, fellow Missouri native Napheesa Collier (@PHEEsespieces) before their matchup tomorrow.… pic.twitter.com/Fg0PLp1xh4
— Burn City Sports (@BurnCitySports) June 6, 2024
All representing Missouri in the “W,” Cunningham was born in Columbia, fellow Mercury teammate Sug Sutton is from St. Louis and Collier is a Jefferson City native.
When anticipating a matchup like this against Collier, it brought back memories for Cunningham of her time playing with and against each other growing up in the Midwest state.
“They [the games] were great, they were a blood battle every single time,” Cunningham said. “It really is cool, you don’t see a lot of female hoopers besides Maya Moore really coming from the Missouri area. We have Sug on this team too [Mercury]. We all played against each other, we played with each other and so to see the representation in the Midwest growing is pretty cool.”
Moore is a legend of the WNBA and well-known in the United States for her fight for criminal justice reform. Like Collier, Moore is from Jefferson City and has played for the Lynx as well.
With the growth of women’s basketball across the country booming and players coming from many different cities and states, seeing players who grew up around each other prosper when they get older deserves plaudits – even if they are on opposite sides of each other in a sport.
Noticing how much work it took Collier to get to where she is at, she is just getting started in her quest for success in the WNBA. Minnesota is currently 7-2 and on top of the Western Conference, shaping up to be a strong force in the league this season.
Cunningham and Sutton will seek revenge on last week’s loss as the Mercury take on Collier and the Lynx on Friday at 7 p.m. PT inside Footprint Center.
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Reporter Alec Cipollini covers ASU Athletics, Phoenix Mercury and more for Burn City Sports. You can follow him on his X account, @AlecCipollini
