“I think as roles change, you find ways to impact success no matter what,” said Carleton, who also averaged 3.6 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game this season. “Those things, I think, go unnoticed a lot of the time, but it’s really appreciated here.”
To sweep Golden State in the first round, Carleton hit back-to-back threes (going 4-for-6 from beyond the arc) to keep the Valkyries from digging Minnesota’s hole any deeper in the third quarter of the Lynx’s 75-74 comeback in Game 2 on Wednesday. That was after Carleton shot 2-for-11 from long range in her previous four games.
“You’ll see her on one of their best players, and you’ll see her big shots,” McBride said. “She’s competitive, and she’s just willing to do whatever she needs to do and patch things up, kind of like the glue for us.”