Minnesota Lynx Secure Top Playoff Seed Despite Heavy Defeat to Indiana Fever

Caitlin Clark led the Indiana Fever with 27 points, nine assists, and seven rebounds, while Kelsey Mitchell surpassed the WNBA single-season scoring record with 20 points as the Fever defeated the Minnesota Lynx 96-77 on Tuesday night.

The result delivered mixed emotions for the Lynx. Portland Fire’s later victory over the Golden State Valkyries ensured that Minnesota had secured the No. 1 seed for the playoffs, which commence on Sunday. However, the team was without rookie sensation Olivia Miles, who was ruled out late with a left calf injury. Miles had broken Clark’s single-season scoring record for a rookie just two days earlier. Head coach Cheryl Reeve revealed that she had nearly held Miles out of Sunday’s game against Connecticut and emphasized that the organization would manage the injury on a day-to-day basis as the postseason draws near.

Indiana seized control with a dominant 14-2 run to end the opening quarter and built a 31-16 lead. The Fever quickly extended their advantage to 38-18 early in the second quarter and held a commanding 57-28 margin at halftime. The lopsided deficit prompted Reeve to bench the majority of her starters in the second half. Minnesota forward Napheesa Collier expressed her dissatisfaction with the team’s effort on the night.

“It’s embarrassing,” Collier told ESPN. “We should be disappointed and embarrassed about the product that we put on the floor tonight. Not proud of what we did.”

The Fever had already secured a playoff berth, and Tuesday’s victory kept alive their slim hopes of claiming the No. 4 seed and home-court advantage in the first round for at least one additional day.

“We’re scary when we’re clicking,” Clark said. “Like, we’re the best offensive team in the league, and we’ve shown moments where we can be really good defensively. I feel very confident in everything and everybody that we have in this locker room, and I think for us it’s just finding a level of consistency.”

Reeve had publicly called on her squad to aim at “ripping people’s hearts out and taking momentum back.” Despite the lopsided loss, she expressed hope that her team would adopt that mentality when they reconvene on Thursday.

“Well, that’s not my version of ‘F you,'” Reeve said. “So, we’ll maybe discuss that. Like, what does that mean to you? And so that would be great that maybe that might exist on Thursday.”

Reeve added that clinching home-court advantage for the playoffs held no significance for her, citing the Lynx as a “damn good road team.”

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