WNBA playoffs 2024: Connecticut Sun Marina Mabrey isn't here for anyone's popularity contest - ESPN

MINNEAPOLIS — Minnesota Lynx star Napheesa Collier tumbled to the floor in pursuit of a loose ball but the Connecticut Sun's Marina Mabrey reached in and tried to take it.

Collier, the WNBA Defensive Player of the Year, let Mabrey know she didn't appreciate her actions. Mabrey, as she's known to do, responded with a series of expletives.

Minutes earlier, Mabrey got tossed to the court by Lynx forward Bridget Carleton and appeared to make an attempt to trip her opponent after that foul. She was bulldozed by Minnesota's Kayla McBride, who drew a technical foul as they exchanged words. Mabrey also pointed toward the Lynx with two fingers when her shot found the net after another foul.

And that was just in the first half of the Sun's Game 2 loss to the Lynx in the WNBA semifinals Tuesday.

«I mean, I'm from Jersey,» Mabrey told ESPN. «Some people have never been to Jersey, but when you go, first of all, it all goes down outside [on the court]. So that's just another level. Just playing outside, people were always talking s---. So being able to still play and talk — and like we'd always say, 'Don't get punked.'»

Since she arrived in July after requesting a trade from the Chicago Sky, Mabrey's brashness has aligned with the toughness that has made the Sun the league's top defensive team.

With the Sun, Mabrey's tenacity isn't resented, it's respected — along with her game. She has averaged 19.7 PPG and connected on 39% of her 3-point attempts in the playoffs for a team that's tied 1-1 with the Lynx as the series goes to Connecticut for Game 3 on Friday (7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN2).

Her deep 3-pointer near the Lynx's half-court logo in Game 1 on Sunday punctuated the 73-70 victory for the Sun. On Tuesday, she was the first player to