If you’re a fan of basketball, Thursday night was a good night for you.

Much of the WNBA universe was excited for Thursday night’s Lynx vs. Wings game for one reason—the chance to see two of the league’s brightest young stars go head-to-head. The competition between Napheesa Collier and Arike Ogunbowale didn’t disappoint.

Regardless of who you think should win Rookie of the Year, it’s impossible to argue with the fact that both rookies played extremely well. The matchup was also a perfect illustration in the differences between their candidacies.

Collier was, as usual, efficient and effective. She gets her looks within the flow of the game and makes an impact every second she is on the court. Collier finished with 19 points, five rebounds, four steals and an assist. She shot 54.5 percent from the field, was perfect on seven free-throw attempts and didn’t turn the ball over at all.

Ogunbowale showed off why she has the future to be one of the most dominant go-to scorers in the league, going 6-of-14 from the field and 9-of-10 from the line and finishing with 22 points. Her quick release, physicality and speed are undeniably lethal and she has a magnetism on the court that helps set her teammates up. However, the Lynx defended her extremely well. With Danielle Robinson as the primary defender and Minnesota pulling out a trapping scheme that relied heavily on Damiris Dantas, Ogunbowale was flummoxed by the Lynx’s activity for much of the night. She got hers, but the Lynx did a good job of helping make their rookie look good.

“The effort on [Ogunbowale] was pretty good and I thought our rookie was even better,” said head coach Cheryl Reeve. “Once again with four steals. Nineteen points, four steals, five rebounds, just does it all. I thought that was a statement game from Napheesa.”

Team captain Sylvia Fowles has always been a fan of Collier but was particularly complimentary of her performance on Thursday. Asked if there were any Lynx players that stood out to her, she didn’t hesitate.

“ROY, AKA Napheesa Collier. She did great. We don’t have to ask her to step outside herself to do anything. She let the game come to her and she played great from start to finish,” she said.

Collier has achieved so much this season by staying focused inward and working on doing everything she does well. Despite high-profile contests in college and an ongoing battle for Rookie of the Year she had nothing but good things to say about a natural rival in Ogunbowale.

“She has a great mentality that no matter what’s going on she’s going to be aggressive, she’s going to play her game, so I think that’s one of the biggest thing that rookies probably struggle with is transferring and keeping their confidence high being like freshmen again. Because she doesn’t have that problem, I think she was able to do well,” she said.

Collier doesn’t have that problem either. She has quickly emerged as one of the most important players on a playoff team in Minnesota. Collier has earned her accolades and though there’s no question that Ogunbowale has a bright future, Collier should win the Rookie of the Year award. She does too much, too well to not be recognized.