Lynx determined to hit ground running after Cheryl Reeve, Napheesa Collier bring home gold

While three starters and coach Cheryl Reeve were pursuing medals in Paris, the rest of the Lynx worked. But they also rested. And rooted as fans.

“Oh, man, I ain’t gonna lie,” said Courtney Williams of watching Team USA’s 67-66 victory over France in the gold medal game. “They had me scared [Sunday]. But they pulled it through.”

But now, back to work. After getting much of two weeks off — Williams went to Costa Rica, Kayla McBride has a new home in North Carolina, Dorka Juhász went back to her native Hungary — the nine players remaining returned to the Twin Cities and started prepping for the 15-game sprint to the end of the WNBA season.

“The main thing is hitting the ground running,” McBride said. “I think we put ourselves in a really good position, and we want to maximize that.”

The Lynx come out of the break at 17-8, tied with Seattle for third place in the league, holding the tiebreaker over the Storm. They were able to maintain that position despite being without Napheesa Collier for the final five games before the Olympic break, winning three of those games.

But Collier, who won gold with Reeve, will be back. The Lynx should be injury-free. For the Lynx, who spent the past month working either here or in France, the goal is to finish the season strong. And that starts with the first of back-to-back games against Washington, starting with a game at Target Center on Thursday night.

“It was all about execution, staying sharp,” Lynx associate head coach Katie Smith said. “So that, when everybody is back, we can hit the ground running.”

Working on team concepts was hard, with three of the five Lynx starters — Collier, Alanna Smith (Australia) and Bridget Carleton (Canada) — all playing in the Olympics. But Smith saw it as a challenge to the remaining nine players to work with new things.

“It was a good time for reps,” Smith said. “Different voices, putting people in different situations, challenging them. And then, when everybody gets back, hopefully everyone is elevated.”

Of their final 15 games, nine are on the road. The Lynx have eight games against teams that went into the Olympic break with a winning record.

“I would have loved to be in the Olympics,” said Juhász, whose Hungary team came one victory away from qualifying for Paris. Don’t worry, her four-year plan has her playing in the 2028 games in Los Angeles as a goal. “But it was fun to have this kind of time practicing together while others are competing. Working on the plays, getting in shape, getting that team chemistry. It’s been really useful.”

But now, back to league play.

“Our mindset is just attack each day,” McBride said. “Make the most of it. Seasons like this don’t happen all the time. I know, I’ve been in the league for a while. We have to treat these last 15 games like playoff games. As long as we stay on the same page and stay healthy, I think we have a great chance at a great finish.”