Olivia Miles' Struggles vs. Valkyries Discussed by Lynx HC, 'Needed a Game Like This'

Minnesota Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve thinks Olivia Miles will benefit from the worst game of her young career on Friday night.

After Miles had seven points and six turnovers in the Lynx's 81-75 win over the Golden State Valkyries, Reeve explained the rookie phenom "needed a game like this" to help her growth going forward.

"She needed a game like this," Reeve told reporters. "This was a tremendous growth point for her. When things don't go your way, how do you show up?"

Lynx-Valkyries Highlights

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One thing Reeve pointed out is Golden State's defense seemed to emphasize being very physical with Miles to see how she responded:

"She saw physicality, she saw aggressive trapping — they play hard and they fly around, they protect the paint. It would have been easy to be frustrated, but we are not going to hide from this. We are going to stand right in this and keep working and see what we can find. The gravity to her was terrific for the rest of our team. ... Maybe her numbers weren't gaudy, but the impact she still had on the game was tremendous."

Miles had made things look very easy to start her WNBA career. The No. 2 pick in this year's draft had scored at least 10 points in each of her first 15 games, including a career-high 31 on 12-of-15 shooting in a 99-83 win over the Los Angeles Sparks on Wednesday.

Friday night saw Miles make just one of her 10 field-goal attempts. It was the first time she shot under 50 percent in a game since May 29. She did find ways to impact the game, particularly on defense with three steals and three blocks.

Minnesota's defense really tightened things up in the second half, holding the Valkyries to just 29 points over the final 20 minutes.

It's a testament to how dominant the Lynx are overall that they were able to beat a quality opponent with their leading scorer having a rough night.

The win moved Minnesota's record to 13-3, two games ahead of the Las Vegas Aces for the best mark.

Miles will look to rebound on Sunday when the Lynx host the Washington Mystics in the front end of a home-and-home.