LOS ANGELES — Olivia Miles established a WNBA rookie record with 24 first-half points on Wednesday, contributing to her career-high 31 points on 12-of-15 shooting. The Minnesota Lynx defeated the Los Angeles Sparks 99-83 at Crypto.com Arena.

The Lynx improved their record to 12-3 with the win and secured a spot in the Commissioner's Cup championship. Courtney Williams hit a mid-range jumper to give Minnesota a permanent lead and followed it with a 3-pointer, making the score 23-19 at the end of the first quarter. Williams recorded 13 points and five assists for Minnesota, while Natasha Howard scored 15 points and grabbed nine rebounds. Kayla McBride scored 14 points, and Nia Coffey recorded five steals, which was a career high for her.

Los Angeles entered the matchup on a two-game losing streak. Sparks guard Kelsey Plum did not play due to a lower leg injury, and she averaged 25 points per game before missing the contest. Sparks forward Cameron Brink also missed the game after spraining her ankle. Los Angeles has not defeated the Lynx at home since August 21, 2018.

Rae Burrell led the Sparks with 19 points, scoring 10 of those in the first quarter. Jihyun Park scored 13 points for Los Angeles. Dearica Hamby recorded 12 points, nine rebounds, and three steals, while Nneka Ogwumike posted eight rebounds and between 10 and 12 points.

Head coach Lynne Roberts said, "I think our shot selection was better. We're still not always in the right spots and that's on me. We have not practiced and I think you're seeing some of that slippage tonight against these really good teams." Roberts said, "Those are two of our most impactful players, right? Cam, obviously, offensively but defensively very impactful. That probably would have made a difference with Miles in there, right?"

Burrell said, "I feel like just getting in the paint and my teammates setting good screens, talking to me. We knew we was down KP so we needed to be more aggressive on offense. So I just was trying to bring that." Miles said, "I think I'm more so surprised with just the ability to be me so early on, which is a credit to my environment. Coach Cheryl Reeve has been amazing. My teammates have been amazing."