Lynx Offseason Update Vol. 9: An Offensive Outburst, Double-Doubles, and Balance

Feb 7, 2023 - 1:00 AM

With WNBA free agency underway and the Minnesota Lynx roster starting to take shape, a trio of Lynx players continue to play overseas while awaiting the start of the 2023 season.

Kayla McBride, Jessica Shepard and Bridget Carleton continue to spend their offseasons overseas in Turkey, Italy and Spain, respectively, while working on their games before the 2023 W season commences.

A week ago, we once again updated you on the Lynx trio in the eighth edition of our Lynx Offseason Update and how they have performed out of the country. Over the past week, each of the Lynx players took the court once, with McBride continuing her offensive outburst, Shepard continuing her strong play as of late and Carleton posting a pair of balanced performances.

Let’s take a look at how the Lynx have performed overseas in the ninth edition of our Offseason Update.

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Photo by Esra Bilgin/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

Kayla McBride

Fenerbahçe — EuroLeague — Istanbul, Turkey

McBride continued her strong offseason overseas with Fenerbahçe, taking part in one EuroLeague game and one Turkey-KBSL contest over the past week.

On Jan. 31 against USK Praha in EuroLeague action, McBride tallied 13 points, a season-high-tying six rebounds, three steals and one assist over 37 minutes in a 73-66 win. On Feb. 3 against Bursa in a Turkey-KBSL game, she tallied a season-high-tying 28 points, eight rebounds, six assists and two steals over 30 minutes during a 101-74 victory.

So far this offseason, McBride is averaging 15.8 points, four assists, 3.7 rebounds and 1.5 steals in 35.3 minutes during 12 EuroLeague games this offseason. She has also averaged 20.3 points, 5.1 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.1 steals over 29.5 minutes in 15 Turkey-KBSL appearances.

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Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images

Jessica Shepard

Umana Reyer Venezia — Italy Serie A1/EuroCup — Venice, Italy

Shepard has put forth some solid performances this offseason with Umana Reyer Venezia, and she continued her recent string of strong showings over the past week while playing in one EuroCup contest.

In a 77-60 victory over Elitzur Holon on Feb. 1, Shepard finished with a season-high 24 points, seven rebounds, four assists, one steal and one block over 35 minutes. Shepard has now posted 20 or more points in two EuroCup games this season.

This offseason, Shepard has averaged 17.3 points, 9.8 rebounds and 3.1 assists in 27.8 minutes in eight EuroCup games this year. She has averaged 19.6 points, 8.6 rebounds and 2.3 assists in 27.6 minutes over 15 Italy-Serie A1 contests.

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Photo by Jordan Johnson/NBAE via Getty Images

Bridget Carleton

Perfumerías Avenida — EuroLeague — Salamanca, Spain

While officially re-signing with the Lynx to start WNBA free agency, Carleton continued playing overseas with Perfumerías Avenida over the last week, playing one EuroLeague game and one Spain-LF Endesa contests with her Spanish club.

On Feb. 1 against Sopron in EuroLeague action, Carleton tallied seven points, seven rebounds, three assists, one block and one steal over 27 minutes in a 74-61 win. On Feb. 4 against Bembibre in a Spain-LF Endesa game, she posted 14 points, seven rebounds, four assists and one steal over 26 minutes in a 66-49 victory.

So far this offseason, Carleton has averaged 11 points, 3.9 rebounds, two assists and 1.7 steals in 29.4 minutes during seven EuroLeague contests, while averaging 12.8 points, 5.3 rebounds, two assists, 1.4 steals and 1.1 blocks in 31.3 minutes in eight Spain-LF Endesa games.

That will do it in another edition of the Lynx Offseason Update. Enjoy all the free agency news that will come about in the coming days before we catch back up for another offseason update next week.