As the Golden State Valkyries snapped the Minnesota Lynx’s 6-game winning streak and Olivia Miles’ otherwise perfect stretch, Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve believed the rookie needed exactly that.

“I want games like this for Liv as a rookie,” the coach said during the postgame availability, per an X clip posted by Lynx beat reporter Andrew Dukowitz. “We need games like this so that there’s learning that happens. There's disappointment, maybe, that she’s feeling for sure.”

Shooting just 8 points on 3-of-12 from the field, 1-of-5 3P and 1 FT in the 66-80 loss to the Valkyries was surely a disappointing stat line for the 23-year-old rookie averaging 19.7 points, 4.6 rebounds and 6.2 assists this season. The visiting Valkyries had some iron defense.

In the battle between the top two teams in the league, the Valkyries stole the ball 12 times with 6 turnovers compared to the Lynx’ 2 steals and 17 turnovers. They drastically limited Minnesota’s FG (36%, 21-of-59) by guarding Miles. But Reeve knew this would only strengthen the rookie.

“She needs that, and we need that. That’s the kind of stuff that makes us a better team,” she added to the same segment. “And I’m quite confident that the next time we’re in a hard situation, what we went through tonight will be really valuable to her and to our team.”

And she wasn’t the only one to say this.

Natasha Howard Reiterated Cheryl Reeve’s Remarks

Howard’s 28 minutes had better production than Miles’. The Lynx forward added 13 points, 7 rebounds, 1 steal and 1 block. But it didn’t help the team win, and postgame, Howard backed up Reeve’s claims.

“Yeah, I agree with Cheryl,” she said, per another X post by Dukowitz. “You don’t want to have these kinds of losses come playoffs. Because you get one of these losses and the series is tied 2-2… right now it’s good for all of us.”

“It’s a learning lesson for the whole group as well,” she added, “it's not only on Liv; it’s the whole team.”

With a 31-8 record, the Lynx still have 5 more games to play, 4 of them against playoff teams. Do you think they’ll be able to apply their newly learned lesson against the Atlanta Dream on August 30?

Let us know in the comments.

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Written by

Deblina Roy