\u201cWithout her, we don\u2019t win that game,\u201d Natisha Hiedeman<\/a>, who previously played with Carrington as members of the Connecticut Sun, said to reporters after practice on Thursday. \u201cGreat first game for her as a Lynx.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n The IX Basketball, a 24\/7\/365 women\u2019s basketball newsroom powered by The Next Carrington scored 13 points in under 18 minutes of play on 5-of-7 shooting from the field. She added four rebounds, two assists, two steals, and one game-changing blocked shot.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThey thought they had a transition layup,\u201d Carrington said with a smile during the first postgame press conference of her Lynx career. \u201cWe had other plans.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Sunday\u2019s trade marked the first time in Carrington\u2019s career that she had ever been traded mid-season. Yet, she played with a comfort and confidence that made it look like she\u2019d been part of this group since the first day of training camp.\u00a0<\/p>\n Minnesota\u2019s newest member didn\u2019t arrive a total stranger. Carrington played with both Hiedeman and Courtney Williams<\/a> as a member of the Connecticut Sun for the first four seasons of her career. She and Alanna Smith<\/a> go back to their college days at Stanford. And as a competitor, Carrington was a crucial player for that very same Connecticut Sun team that eliminated the Lynx in the first round of the 2023 WNBA Playoffs, and pushed the Lynx to the brink in last year\u2019s Semifinals that Minnesota won in a decisive Game 5.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s been great, I honestly don\u2019t have any complaints,\u201d Carrington said after Tuesday night\u2019s game when asked about the whirlwind that comes with a mid-season trade. \u201cIt helped that I\u2019m so familiar with three people on the team. Three people that are a big part of the offense. It\u2019s been great. I\u2019m glad to be a part of a team where we have a goal and everyone is fighting for that goal. You could just feel the energy, every huddle, every possession, this is a group of winners, and I\u2019m a winner too, so it\u2019s great to be part of it.\u201d<\/p>\n Tune in to Locked On Women\u2019s Basketball<\/p>\n Here at The IX Basketball, in addition to the 24\/7\/365 written content our staff provides, we also host the daily Locked On Women\u2019s Basketball<\/a> podcast. Join us Monday through Saturday each week as we discuss all things WNBA, collegiate basketball, basketball history and much more. Listen wherever you find podcasts or watch on YouTube.<\/p>\n Carrington\u2019s experience with Hiedeman, Smith, and Williams, as well as her reputation as one of the best defensive players in the league coming off a first-team all-defense selection, with a Most Improved Player trophy to boot, endeared her to her new teammates immediately. Her new head coach developed an affinity for her during the stretch of last season\u2019s \u2018knock-down, drag-out<\/a>\u2019 semifinals.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI can tell you that she\u2019s a competitor times 10,\u201d Lynx head coach and president of basketball operations Cheryl Reeve said after Carrington\u2019s first official practice in Minneapolis. \u201cGo back and look at Game 5 (of the 2024 WNBA Semifinals) in the Target Center and watch DiJonai\u2019s level of compete, regardless of what the score was, regardless of what was happening, and I really grew in my fandom [of her] during that game in particular.\u201d<\/p>\n The Lynx won that game to punch their ticket to the 2024 WNBA Finals by a final score of 88-77. In a game the Lynx controlled throughout, and led by as many as 24, Carrington didn\u2019t give in, notching team-highs in both points (17) and rebounds (12) as the Sun fought back all night.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThat Game 5, obviously, there was a lot on the line and in the second half it kind of seemed like we rolled over a little bit, but that\u2019s never in my DNA,\u201d Carrington told reporters during her first in-person media availability in Minneapolis. \u201cI\u2019m always gonna compete to the end and I think that\u2019s what stuck out to her, just the fight that I had. It\u2019s not even something that I really think about because that\u2019s just how I play, regardless of if it\u2019s a Game 5 or if it\u2019s Game 1 of the season. I was obviously delighted that she loves that about me, but that\u2019s just me, honestly.\u201d<\/p>\n Order \u2018Rare Gems\u2019 and save 30%
The IX Basketball<\/a>: A basketball newsroom brought to you by The IX Sports<\/a>. 24\/7\/365 women\u2019s basketball coverage, written, edited and photographed by our young, diverse staff and dedicated to breaking news, analysis, historical deep dives and projections about the game we love.<\/p>\n![\"Locked](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/1754686867_581_locked-on-wbb-ad.png\")
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Howard Megdal, founder and editor of The Next and The IX, released his latest book on May 7, 2024. This deeply reported story follows four connected generations of women\u2019s basketball pioneers, from Elvera \u201cPeps\u201d Neuman to Cheryl Reeve and from Lindsay Whalen to Sylvia Fowles and Paige Bueckers.<\/p>\n