Minnesota Lynx win rubber match with Las Vegas Aces in 92-87 road victory
LAS VEGAS — The league-leading Minnesota Lynx set a franchise record with their 15th road win of the season by defeating the Las Vegas Aces, 92-87, on Saturday night.
It was the rubber match between the only WNBA teams that have clinched playoff berths so far, after each won at home earlier this season.
Rookie Olivia Miles led six Lynx players in double figures with a team-high 23 points for the Lynx, and added eight assists. Napheesa Collier had 19 points and six rebounds, while Natasha Howard registered her ninth double-double of the season, with 13 points and 11 rebounds.
Kayla McBride also had 13 points, and Courtney Williams and Nia Coffey each chipped in with 12.
A 92-87 win for @minnesotalynx at Las Vegas on Saturday, their 15th road victory this season. In 3 games against Las Vegas, Lynx rookie guard Olivia Miles has averaged 26.0 points & 5.3 assists. Tonight, she had 23 points & 8 assists.
— Michael Voepel (@MAVoepel) August 16, 2026
The Lynx used a pair of third-quarter runs to keep their distance from the feisty defending champions, and held off a late rally to secure the win.
“They went on a couple of runs, but I think we did a good job of clogging the paint, doing what we do, getting stops, and making our own runs,” Collier said. “I think we’re so resilient. We had so many people step up today. Nia hit some big shots, had some big defensive rebounds. People getting stops. I think just each night, someone else continues to step up, and we have that next man up mentality.”
Las Vegas’ A’ja Wilson led all scorers with 32 points, NaLyssa Smith turned in her fourth double-double with 17 points and 12 rebounds and Chelsea Gray had 12 points and nine assists. Jewell Loyd came off the bench to score 10 of the team’s 16 bench points.
With the win, the Lynx improved to 29-7 and further distanced themselves from the second-place Golden State Valkyries by 3.5 games. The Aces (24-12) are in third place, five games behind Minnesota while holding off the fourth-place Indiana Fever (22-12, six games back).
WITH OR WITHOUT PHEE
The Lynx spent their first 27 games without Collier, so it’s not as if they don’t know how to perform while she’s on the bench. They showed they’re still capable of doing so when the annual MVP candidate checked out of the game at the 9-minute mark of the third period with her fourth foul.
The Lynx led 52-50 at the time, after Wilson hit a pair of free throws. The league leaders responded with a 10-2 run as Collier watched from a chair. The Aces fought back expectedly to make it a two-point game, 64-62, but Minnesota proved it could withstand the pressure and went on another 10-2 run to close the quarter, taking a 74-64 lead into the final quarter.
Later, in the fourth quarter, Collier was forced to sit again, this time with 6:08 remaining after committing her fifth foul, and the Lynx leading 80-73. The Aces couldn’t do much, carving into the deficit by just two points, as the Lynx led 87-82 when their star returned.
None of it came as a surprise if you consider the Lynx opened the season a league-best 22-6 before Collier made her season debut on July 22. Through July 20, the Lynx had the second-best scoring offense (91.5 PPG), field-goal percentage (.480) and 3-point shooting percentage (.379).
During the same stretch, the Lynx had the third-best scoring defense (83.1) while boasting the league’s best opponents’ field-goal percentage (.422).
After defeating the Aces today, the Lynx have officially set a new franchise record with their 15th road win of the season
pic.twitter.com/0IvCmAQ59N
— The Sporting News (@sportingnews) August 16, 2026
CUP OF COFFEY
Though Las Vegas’ reserves outscored Minnesota’s back-up players, 16-12, there may not have been a more valuable player at a more crucial time than Coffey, who had all of the Lynx’s 12 points off the bench.
Coffey finished 4 of 5 from the floor – all from beyond the arc – grabbed four rebounds and had an assist, a block and one steal.
It was during Collier’s reprieve in the third quarter when Coffey made her presence felt, as she played nine of the 10 minutes in the stanza and scored nine points on 3 of 4 shooting from 3-point range.
“I thought they did a good job sniffing out what we were doing defensively with which players, and I thought they did a good job of attacking that,” Aces coach Becky Hammon said. “When you look at the stat sheet, they got six people in double figures. It wasn’t any one steady diet, with them playing really great as a team and taking what our defense was giving them.
“Some of the things we gambled on giving up, they stepped up, and their role players did a good job – like Coffey.”
It was Coffey’s first double-digit scoring effort since she scored 22 in a six-point victory at Golden State on June 19. The four 3-pointers were her second-most in a game this season.
NEXT UP
The Lynx, who have now won four straight and 14 of 15 since July 8, will look to stay unbeaten on the road when they visit the Valkyries on Wednesday.
The Aces – who have split their last eight games, with three of the four losses coming against New York and Minnesota (twice) – will host the Atlanta Dream on Tuesday.
W.G. Ramirez is a veteran sports writer from Las Vegas and a Staff Writer at Ballislife.com. Follow him on X at @WillieGRamirez.
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