UNCASVILLE, Conn. — Cheryl Reeve took sole possession of the WNBA record for career wins by a head coach Wednesday night, when the Minnesota Lynx team beat the host Connecticut Sun, 86-80, behind 23 points from Kayla McBride.
Reeve has 380 regular-season wins, one more than Mike Thibault, whose son Eric is Minnesota’s associate head coach.
“I am so glad this is over,” said Reeve, who had previously called the record chase “a distraction” that she didn’t want her team to have to deal with.
A four-time WNBA coach of the year, Reeve was hired by the Lynx in 2010 and has led the franchise to all four of its championships — tied with the Houston Comets and the Seattle Storm for the most in the 30-year-old league’s history.
“Learned a lot from Mike through the years,” Reeve added. “I know he’s happy for me. And somebody’s going to pass me, and I’ll be happy for them, too.”
After she tied Thibault with an 85-77 win against the host Dallas Wings on June 28, the Lynx (16-6) lost back-to-back games for the first time this season. Minnesota lost Friday to the host New York Liberty in Reeve’s first chance to set the record, then fell 90-89 to the Sun at home on Monday.
Natasha Howard added 12 points and 10 rebounds for Minnesota in Wednesday’s win — which moved the Lynx a half-game in front of the Las Vegas Aces, the reigning WNBA champions, atop the league standings — at Connecticut (5-17), which got 15 points, six assists and six rebounds from Leila Lacan, plus 14 points from Olivia Nelson-Ododa.
Reeve became just the second WNBA coach inducted into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame in Knoxville last month, joining former Comets coach Van Chancellor, who was inducted in 2001. She also led the U.S. women’s basketball team to an eighth consecutive Olympic gold medal at the 2024 Paris Games.