supposed to take part in Unrivaled<\/a>, will miss the season due to having surgery on both ankles and missing a total of 4-6 months in recovery.<\/p>\nLet\u2019s take a look at where those Lynx players are playing, how they\u2019ve done as of late, how they are performing so far this offseason or how they finished their offseason.<\/p>\n
Alanna Smith \u2014 Mist (Unrivaled), Australia (World Cup Qualfying)<\/p>\n
Smith began her offseason playing in Unrivaled, where she helped the Mist take home the Unrivaled championship. Now with that season over, she is now returning to represent her home country of Australia in World Cup Qualifying action in Istanbul.<\/p>\n
In Qualifying play, Smith got off to a bit of a slower start offensively but rebounded nicely over the next three games and also impacted both ends of the floor in each contest.<\/p>\n
World Cup Qualifying: 4 games \u2014 11,5 PPG, 8.0 RPG, 1.5 APG, 1.3 SPG, 0.8 BPGUnrivaled: 14 games \u2014 9.0 PPG, 5.2 RPG, 0.9 APG, 0.8 BPG, 0.5 SPGMarch 11 vs. Argentina (91-65 win): four points (2-6 FG, 0-2 3Pt), seven rebounds, five assists and one steal over 21 minutesMarch 12 vs. Japan (81-71 win): 12 points (5-10 FG, 1-2 3Pt), nine rebounds, three blocks, one assist and one steal over 29 minutesMarch 14 vs. Hungary (71-58 win): 12 points (4-11 FG, 0-1 3Pt), six rebounds and three steals over 22 minutesMarch 15 vs. Turkey (77-74 win): 18 points (7-13 FG, 0-2 3Pt) and 10 rebounds over 32 minutes<\/p>\n
Kayla McBride \u2014 Fenerbah\u00e7e (Turkey)<\/p>\n
McBride is back at her second home in Turkey while returning to play for Turkish powerhouse Fenerbah\u00e7e. Though some expected her to return to play in Unrivaled this offseason, McBride chose to start the offseason overseas with a team that is special to her.<\/p>\n
McBride began her season overseas strong, providing a two-way showing for the Turkish powerhouse. Over the past week, McBride and Fenerbah\u00e7e didn\u2019t take part in any games.<\/p>\n
Turkey-KBSL: 16 games \u2014 13.0 PPG, 4.9 APG, 4.2 RPG, 0.9 SPGEuroLeague: 10 games \u2014 14.1 PPG, 3.4 APG, 3.2 RPG, 1.7 SPGMarch 2 vs. Kayseri (113-42 win): 14 points (5-9 FG, 4-8 3Pt), three assists and two rebounds over 15 minutesMarch 3 vs. Kayseri (95-59 win): seven points (2-6 FG, 1-4 3Pt), three assists and one rebound over 13 minutes<\/p>\n
Bridget Carleton \u2014 USK Praha (Czech Republic), Canada (World Cup Qualifying)<\/p>\n
Carleton has spent her offseason with USK Praha in the Czech Republic this offseason, but she is currently representing her home country of Canada during the World Cup Qualifying Tournament in Istanbul.<\/p>\n
Carleton kicked off World Cup action in strong fashion, surpassing the 20-point mark in the first contest and contributing nicely both offensively and one the boards in all four games thus far.<\/p>\n
World Cup Qualifying: 4 games \u2014 12.5 PPG, 5.5 RPG, 2.5 APG, 0.8 BPG, 0.5 SPGCzech Republic-ZBL: 13 games \u2014 12.0 PPG, 5.3 RPG, 2.1 APG, 1.5 SPG, 0.5 BPGEuroLeague: 11 games \u2014 12.6 PPG, 3.5 RPG, 1.6 APG, 1.4 SPG, 0.3 BPGMarch 11 vs. Turkey (71-69 loss): 24 points (7-12 FG, 2-4 3Pt), five rebounds, two assists and one steal over 36 minutesMarch 12 vs. Hungary (75-53 win): 12 points (5-11 FG, 1-4 3Pt), five rebounds and one assist over 27 minutesMarch 14 vs. Argentina (75-41 win): five points (2-5 FG, 1-2 3Pt), four rebounds, one assist, one steal and one block over 24 minutesMarch 15 vs. Japan (66-62 loss): nine points (3-19 FG, 1-10 3Pt), eight rebounds, six assists and two blocks over 36 minutes<\/p>\n
Jessica Shepard \u2014 Famila Schio (Italy)<\/p>\n
Shepard is in a new country this offseason after spending last offseason in Greece, taking the court with Italian power Famila Schio. She has played in Greece, Israel and Italy so far in her career.<\/p>\n
Shepard has put up some impressive numbers in Italy this offseason, once again being a double-double machine like we\u2019ve been accustomed to seeing. Over the past week, Shepard had a near and Famila Schio didn\u2019t take part in any games.<\/p>\n
Italy-Serie A1: 18 games \u2014 17.3 PPG, 9.2 RPG, 2.1 APG, 0.9 SPGEuroLeague: 15 games \u2014 17.0 PPG, 9.5 RPG, 2.5 APG, 1.4 SPGFeb. 28 vs. San Giovanni (79-54 win): nine points (4-8 FG), 15 rebounds and four assists over 29 minutesMarch 3 vs. Venezia (62-51 loss): 16 points (8-13 FG), 13 rebounds, three assists and two steals over 37 minutes<\/p>\n
Maria Kliundikova \u2014 UMMC Ekateringburg (Russia)<\/p>\n
Kliundiokva, who was a midseason arrival for Minnesota and ended up with a nice role off the bench for the Lynx, is back in her home country of Russia this offseason playing for UMMC Ekateringburg alongside soon-to-be second-year Lynx forward Anastasiia Olairi Kosu.<\/p>\n
Kliundikova has put together a balanced offseason so far, helping her squad offensively and on the boards while also impacting other areas of the game. Over the past week, Kliundikova and UMMC Ekateringburg didn\u2019t take part in any games.<\/p>\n
Russia-PBL: 21 games \u2014 12.1 PPG, 7.5 RPG, 2.0 APG, 1.1 SPG, 0.8 BPGMarch 4 vs. Dynamo Kursk (66-55 win): 12 points (5-12 FG, 1-3 3Pt), seven rebounds, one assist and one steal over 19 minutes<\/p>\n
Dorka Juh\u00e1sz \u2014 Galatasaray (Turkey), Hungary (World Cup Qualifying)<\/p>\n
Juh\u00e1sz has spent her WNBA offseason playing for Galatasaray in Turkey, but she has taken a break from that to represent her home country of Hungary in the World Cup Qualifying Tournament in Istanbul.<\/p>\n
Juh\u00e1sz opened up World Cup Qualifying play with a bang, dropping a 34-point near double-double showing followed by another near double-double performance. Juh\u00e1sz cooled off a bit due to struggles shooting from the field, but rounded out the week strong with a double-double.<\/p>\n
World Cup Qualifying: 4 games \u2014 16.5 PPG, 9.0 RPG, 1.3 BPG, 1.0 APG, 0.5 SPGTurkey-KBSL: 14 games \u2014 11.8 PPG, 5.9 RPG, 1.6 APG, 1.1 SPG, 0.7 BPGEuroLeague: 17 games \u2014 13.4 PPG, 8.1 RPG, 1.3 APG, 1.0 SPG, 0.9 BPGMarch 11 vs. Japan (77-65 win): 34 points (15-22 FG, 1-4 3Pt), nine rebounds, two assists, one steal and one block over 26 minutesMarch 12 vs. Canada (75-53 loss): 13 points (4-13 FG, 1-2 3Pt), nine rebounds, one assist and one block over 25 minutesMarch 14 vs. Australia (71-58 loss): 1 point (0-5 FG, 0-2 3Pt), seven rebounds, one assist and one block over 20 minutesMarch 15 vs. Argentina (92-81 win): 17 points (6-12 FG, 1-1 3Pt), 11 rebounds, two blocks and one steal over 32 minutes<\/p>\n
Anastasiia Olairi Kosu \u2014 UMMC Ekateringburg (Russia)<\/p>\n
Kosu is back home in Russia this offseason, playing with fellow Lynx teammate Maria Kliundikova with UMMC Ekateringburg.<\/p>\n
Kosu, who Minnesota is hoping continues to develop leading into her second WNBA campaign, has gotten off to a nice start in Russia this offseason. Over the past week, Kosu and UMMC Ekateringburg didn\u2019t take part in any games.<\/p>\n
Russia-PBL: 18 games \u2014 10.3 PPG, 5.5 RPG, 1.5 SPG, 0.8 APG, 0.5 BPGMarch 4 vs. Dynamo Kursk (66-55 win): 10 points (5-8 FG, 0-1 3Pt), four rebounds, three steals, one assist and one block over 23 minutes<\/p>\n
Maia Hirsch \u2014 Charleville-Mezieres (France)<\/p>\n
We have yet to see Hirsch in the WNBA after being drafted by the Lynx in the first round of the 2023 WNBA Draft, but she continues to play in France this offseason as she continues to develop.<\/p>\n
After an up-and-down offseason last year, Hirsch is off to a nice start to this offseason with some additional time on the floor as well. Over the past week, Hirsch and Charleville-Mezieres didn\u2019t take part in any action.<\/p>\n
Franco-BWL: 17 games \u2014 7.5 PPG, 2.8 RPG, 0.8 APG, 0.2 BPG, 0.2 SPGEuroLeague: 10 games \u2014 5.9 PPG, 3.1 RPG, 1.1 APG, 0.5 SPG, 0.4 BPGMarch 7 vs. Basket Landes (68-59 loss): no points (0-1 FG, 0-1 3Pt) and two assists over six minutes<\/p>\n
Camryn Taylor \u2014 Landerneau (France)<\/p>\n
Taylor, who joined the Lynx late in the 2025 WNBA season and was part of the playoff run, has moved from Greece last offseason to France and Landerneau Bretagne Basket this year.<\/p>\n
Taylor had a slow start to the offseason schedule, but has picked things up as of late with two straight double-digit outings. Over the past week, Taylor and Landerneau didn\u2019t take part in any games.<\/p>\n
France-BWL: 9 games \u2014 5.0 PPG, 2.1 RPG, 0.2 SPG, 0.1 APG, 0.1 BPGMarch 7 vs. Monpellier (65-59 win): four points (2-2 FG) and three rebounds over eight minutes<\/p>\n
Courtney Williams \u2014 Breeze (Unrivaled)<\/p>\n
Williams returned to Unrivaled for the second season after being one of the first 32 players to make up the inaugural season a year ago. After spending last season with the Lunar Owls, Williams began the 2026 season with Vinyl before she was traded to Breeze.<\/p>\n
This season, Williams did a nice job in distributing and contributing on the boards despite having a bit of an up-and-down start to the year offensively. She took part in 14 games, contributing in numerous areas of the game.<\/p>\n
Unrivaled: 14 games \u2014 7.9 PPG, 4.9 RPG, 4.2 APG, 0.6 SPG, 0.1 BPG<\/p>\n
Natisha Hiedeman \u2014 Hive (Unrivaled)<\/p>\n
Hiedeman returned to Unrivaled for the second straight season after bouncing around to three different teams \u2014 Phantom, Laces and Rose \u2014 during the inaugural season. Hiedeman concluded the year with Rose and helped them to an Unrivaled Championship.<\/p>\n
With Hive, one of the two newest teams to Unrivaled in 2026, Hiedeman contributed coming off the bench and took part in 12 games with Hive.<\/p>\n
Unrivaled: 12 games \u2014 6.1 PPG, 1.9 RPG, 1.3 APG, 0.3 SPG, 0.1 BPG<\/p>\n
Jaylyn Sherrod \u2014 Rhythm (Athletes Unlimited)<\/p>\n
Sherrod spent her offseason staying in the country this offseason, taking part in Athletes Unlimited\u2019s fifth season, which began earlier this February and concluded after four weeks in Nashville.<\/p>\n
Sherrod was one of 40 players participating in the fast-paced, full-court, 5-on-5 league this season, finishing just under double figures in scoring on the season.<\/p>\n
Athletes Unlimited: 12 games \u2014 9.2 PPG, 2.8 APG, 2.5 RPG, 1.3 SPG<\/p>\n
That will do it for this week. As always, thank you for reading! We will catch up with you next week with another Lynx Offseason Update.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Welcome to a new week and a new Lynx Offseason Update! As we inch closer to what we…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":526088,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[73],"tags":[1077,99,434],"class_list":["post-526087","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-wnba","tag-minnesota-lynx","tag-sports","tag-wnba"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/526087","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=526087"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/526087\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/526088"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=526087"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=526087"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=526087"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}