Lynx Offseason Update Vol. 7: McBride Bounces Back, Shepard Keeps Rolling, Carleton Showcases Balance

With WNBA free agency underway for the Minnesota Lynx and the rest of the league, Minnesota is attempting to reload this offseason with big aspirations to bring in some top free agents to add to the roster in 2023.

As that takes place, a few current Lynx players are continuing to play overseas to hone their skills to be able to hit the ground running alongside whoever is ultimately on Minnesota’s roster this summer.

A week ago, we once again updated you on Kayla McBride, Jessica Shepard and Bridget Carleton in the sixth edition of our Lynx Offseason Update as they continue to play in Turkey, Italy and Spain.

Over the past week, McBride bounced back, Shepard continued her double-double trend as of late and Carleton offered a pair of balanced performances overseas.

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

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Photo by Jordan Johnson/NBAE via Getty Images

Kayla McBride

Fenerbahçe — EuroLeague — Istanbul, Turkey

After a bit of a step back in production last week, McBride bounced back this week while playing in two games for Fenerbahçe.

Since our latest update, McBride played in one EuroLeague contest on Jan. 18 and one Turkey-KBSL game on Jan. 21. On Jan. 18 against Olympiacos, McBride posted 16 points, a season-high eight assists, three rebounds and two steals over 31 minutes in a 92-58 victory. On Jan. 21, she tallied 23 points, six rebounds, four assists and one steal over 33 minutes during an 88-64 win over Botas Ankara.

So far this offseason, McBride is averaging 19.7 points, 4.9 rebounds, 3.1 assists and one steal over 29.5 minutes in 14 Turkey-KBSL appearances. She has also averaged 16.7 points, four assists, 3.3 rebounds and 1.1 steals in 35.3 minutes during 10 EuroLeague games this offseason.

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Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images

Jessica Shepard

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

Over the last week, Shepard took the court in one game with Umana Reyer Venezia, playing one Italy-Serie A1 contest while continuing her double-double trend as of late.

In a 79-74 loss to Sassari on Jan. 21, Shepard posted 17 points, 11 rebounds, five assists and one steal over 34 minutes. That double-double was her second straight in Italy-Serie A1 play, having recorded a double-double in five of her last seven games. In both Italy-Serie A1 and EuroCup action this offseason, Shepard has posted nine double-doubles.

This offseason, Shepard has averaged 19.4 points, 8.5 rebounds and 1.9 assists in 27.1 minutes over 14 Italy-Serie A1 contests. She has averaged 16.7 points, 9.3 rebounds and 2.8 assists in 26 minutes in six EuroCup games this year.

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Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images

Bridget Carleton

Perfumerías Avenida — EuroLeague — Salamanca, Spain

Carleton returned to the floor with her Spanish club while taking part in one Spain-LF Endesa contest and one EuroLeague game.

In EuroLeague play on Jan. 18, Carlton notched eight points, three assists, three rebounds and two steals in 32 minutes during a 72-61 loss to Schio. On Jan. 21 in Spain-LF Endesa action, Carleton tallied another double-digit scoring total with 12 points, six rebounds, a season-high four steals and two assists over 26 minutes in a 75-73 win over CB Islas Canarias.

So far this offseason, Carleton has averaged 9.4 points, 4.3 rebounds, 1.7 steals and one assist in 25.9 minutes in seven Spain-LF Endesa contests, while averaging 11.4 points, 3.4 rebounds and 1.8 assists in 29.8 minutes during five EuroCup games.

That will do it for this week’s edition of the Lynx Offseason Update. Enjoy all the free agency action over the next week and we will see you all next week with another offseason update.