Millers hope for more after eight WNBA seasons

Only one hand is needed to count the number of players in the WNBA from Minnesota. There's Lindsay Whalen of Connecticut. And Janel McCarville of the New York Liberty with an asterisk; she was raised in Wisconsin before becoming a Gopher in college. And then there are the Millers.

Remember them? Anyone following girls' basketball in the state in the mid-1990s knows who they are. Twins Kelly and Coco Miller played for Rochester Mayo for five seasons and led the Spartans to big-school state titles in 1995 and '97.

They were high school legends, relentless, ballhawking guards who played with flair. They ran, jumped and passed faster, higher and crisper than anybody on the teams that Mayo played. One always seemed to know where the other was on the court.

And now, after four years of Division I basketball at Georgia, the Millers are completing their eighth season in the WNBA. And the Lynx will see one and then the other in back-to-back games to close the season.

Minnesota (15-17) plays Phoenix with Kelly Miller at 7 p.m. Friday at Target Center and then the Lynx play at Washington, Coco's team, on Sunday.

"Well, I hoped so," said Coco, asked if she expected to play this long. "And I want to play as long as I possibly can. As long as I still am having fun doing it and playing well, I want to continue."

Coco is a svelte 5-9, 140. She averages 5.4 points, 2.5 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game. She usually is the first Mystics guard off the bench but lately has started a few games because of an ankle injury to Nikki Blue.

She had four points and two assists for the Mystics in a 92-78 loss to the Lynx on Aug. 30 at Target Center.

Kelly shares her sister's view on playing in the WNBA as long as possible. The twins agree on a lot. They remain close despite the vagabond life they lead in the summertime.

"We talk all the time," Kelly said. "Not all of it is about basketball, but sometimes. We talk about everyday stuff, nothing in particular. We probably talk three, four times a day at least. We talk a lot."

The worst part of WNBA life, Kelly said, is that they have never had the chance to play on the same team. Kelly has played for Charlotte, Indiana and, since 2006, the Mercury. Coco has played for Washington from the start of her career.

Phoenix (15-17), the WNBA champion a year ago, and Washington (10-22) are out of the playoffs this year as are the Lynx.

Coco's contract with Washington expires after this season, but she wants to keep playing for the Mystics. She must like politics, right?

"Not really, but I like the city, I like the organization," Coco said. "It's been terrific."

Kelly has one more season left on her contract in Phoenix and also is happy where she is.

"It's great," she said. "I love our team and [guards] Diana Taurasi and Cappie Pondexer are fun to play with. They make people around them better. I love Phoenix all around."

Kelly has started every game for the Mercury. She averages 8.5 points and 4.0 assists per game. She is also the team's best three-point shooter, making 38.3 percent of her shots from behind the arc.

Kelly scored a season-high 20 points as the Phoenix beat the visiting Lynx 103-96 on Sept 3.

The Mercury list her at 5-10 -- the same height she was as a high school senior -- and 140 pounds. So she is an inch taller than her sister. Somebody must have measured wrong.

The Millers have survived so long in the WNBA by staying in good physical shape throughout the year. Coco, on Washington's most recent visit to Target Center, was stretching one leg and then the other above her head easily after pregame warm-ups.

Kelly and Coco both enjoy the trips their respective teams make to Minnesota. Marv and Kathy, their parents, still live in Rochester and come to Target Center when one of twins plays there.

"It is always nice to get back home for a while," Coco said.

So would either one of them want to finish their pro careers with the Lynx?

"That would be great to come back home," Kelly said, "but I love Phoenix, too."

Kelly expects the Mercury to contend for a second WNBA title next season.

"We just gave up too many games early on to give us a chance at the end," Kelly said. "Next year we'll get better."