Lynx forward Napheesa Collier has baby girl, hopes to return before season's end

Napheesa Collier, who hopes to return to the Lynx before the end of the WNBA season, had her first child, a baby girl, on Wednesday in Missouri.

Collier's fiance, Alex Bazzell, tweeted Thursday that Mila Sarah Bazzell weighed 8 pounds, 14 ounces. "Her & momma are both doing great & we're excited to start this next phase of our lives together," Bazzell (@alexbazzell) tweeted.

Collier, a former WNBA Rookie of the Year after being taken sixth overall in the 2019 draft out of UConn, played on Team USA and won a gold medal at the Beijing Olympics last summer.

The 6-1 forward said in early May she anticipated returning this season to participate in center Sylvia Fowles' final season. The Lynx' final regular season game is Aug. 14.

"I'm going to try everything that I can to come back and be able to play with Syl," she said. "I would love to, especially for her last year. And I miss playing. I want to get back on the court. So I'm trying to prepare my body, and I'm going to do everything afterwards to prepare my body to be able to do that."