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Kayla Thornton · Beginning to hit their stride with an at-the-time 14-3 record and each of their stars discovering their rhythm, it wouldn’t have been a stretch to label the New York Liberty’s hot streak as “can’t-miss basketball.” As she stretched the Los Angeles Sparks’ perimeter defense from her go-to spots along the 3-point arc, Kayla Thornton found time to give the phrase a second meaning. Already settled into a respectable groove, the versatile veteran camps along the left wing before putting her teammate’s behind-the-back dish to use with a catch-and-shoot triple, pushing New York’s lead to 14. As productive as nearly any shooter across 2024, particularly from the corner-wing area, Thornton added to her career-best 3-point percentage, erupting for 20 points (on seven-of-eight shooting) six rebounds, one steal, and six trifectas on June 22, 2024. Alongside Thornton’s shooting came both a rousing, standing ovation after the game, and a bit of history. In joining her All-Star teammates, Thornton became one-third of just the second Liberty trio in franchise history to record 20+ points in a game. · State of Mint