By the time Kayla McBride lined up her 10th three-pointer for the single-game record, it didn’t feel like a question of ifshe’d make history — just when. Target Center had been buzzing all afternoon, watching something special build possession by possession, waiting for the moment it would become official.

It finally happened with 2:23 left. Napheesa Collier found McBride near the Minnesota bench, she caught it in the left corner, rose up, and drilled the shot that no one in WNBA history had ever made before. The 14,421 fans in the building all got the payoff they’d been waiting for.

McBride finished with a career-high 43 points in Minnesota’s 103-90 win over Dallas, going 16-of-21 from the field and an unbelievable 10-of-14 from three.

And she did it all on the second night of a back-to-back.

McBride Gave Dallas No Room To Breathe

The previous WNBA record was nine, first set by Kelsey Mitchell in 2019 and matched a few times since. McBride had actually hit eight twice before, so she wasn’t exactly new to flirting with it.

She started 4-for-4, and at one point had made 12 of her first 13 shots. Seven of those were contested too, which honestly didn’t seem to matter much. Dallas could be right there, hand up, good coverage, all of it — and the ball was still going in.

For most of the afternoon, the Wings were hanging around. Minnesota was only up 47-45 at halftime and led 76-68 heading into the fourth, so it never really felt like a runaway. Then McBride hit four more threes in the final quarter and suddenly the whole game revolved around her and the record.

Even she wasn’t totally tracking it. Associate head coach Eric Thibault had to let her know she was one away.

At that moment all I see is the rim, and just trying to make a play.

She got the record and then checked out with 1:21 left. She ended up getting a curtain call when the crowd started chanting the name she usually doesn’t even go by. Around Minnesota it’s usually Mac or K-Mac. But for one afternoon, everyone was more than happy to go with “Kay-la.”

Minnesota Has Too Many Ways To Beat You

The thing that really stands out is Minnesota didn’t even need to turn this into a “get Kayla McBride the ball and hope for the best” kind of night. It just… happened naturally.

Olivia Miles had 20 points and a career-high 13 assists, and honestly, a lot of those assists were just her finding McBride in rhythm. McBride went 8-of-9 on shots set up by the rookie, which is kind of ridiculous when you think about it.

Napheesa Collier did her usual thing too — 17 points, eight boards, four steals — just filling in every gap like she always does. Minnesota also hit a franchise-record 18 threes, cracked 100 points for the fourth time in six games, and became the first team in the league to lock up a playoff spot.

And that’s really the problem for everyone else in October. You can’t really pick your poison here. Load up on Collier and McBride gets clean looks all day. Stick to McBride and Miles will just keep carving you up with passes. Try to adjust to both and you’re just opening the door for someone else to beat you instead.

McBride's 13 years into her career and somehow playing the best basketball of it. She’s at a career-high 18.4 points per game, shooting 42.4 percent from three, and leading the entire league in made threes. On top of that, she spent Sunday chasing Paige Bueckers around on defense and still ended up with the most points any Lynx player has ever scored in a regulation game. It’s a lot.

She came back to Minnesota this offseason and hoped it was the right call. After a three-point record, a playoff clinching win, and an arena full of people chanting her name, it’s probably safe to say she’s not second-guessing it anymore.

All stats courtesy of WNBA.com.

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