It was an unforgettable Friday night for Canadian Olympian Bridget Carleton of Chatham-Kent, Ontario. The 27-year-old forward came on in the final seconds of Game 4 of the 2024 WNBA Finals.
With the game ending 80-0, Carleton, who plays for the Minnesota Lynx, was fouled by WNBA star and New York Liberty guard Sabrina Ionescu with two seconds left. Carleton then made both free throws to give Minnesota the 82-80 win. With the victory, Minnesota has now tied the best of five series at two games each with the fifth and decisive game on Sunday evening at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.
Carleton finished the game with 12 points, four rebounds and a steal in 29 minutes and five seconds of play. She made three of six field goals, two of five three-pointers and all four free throws. All five Lynx starters reached double-digit points. Kayla McBride had 19 points, Courtney Williams had 15 points, Naphessa Collier had 14 points and Alanna Smith had 12 points.
In the WNBA Finals, Carleton had 39 points, 15 rebounds, four assists and two steals. In the 2024 regular season, Carleton averaged 9.6 points per game, 3.8 rebounds per game, 2.2 assists per game and one steal per game. She had a field goal percentage of .444, a three-point percentage of .444 and a free throw percentage of .789.
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