INDIANAPOLIS — Minutes after letting a first-half lead slip away and the Minnesota Lynx ended the Indiana Fever’s five-game winning streak 99-88, the Fever veterans made sure their young teammates had a moment to really process what had just happened.
At 25-9, only the New York Liberty are ahead of the Lynx in the standings. The Lynx have their sights set on the WNBA title. The Fever have secured their first playoff spot in 16 years, but know their goal isn’t just to make the postseason. The up-and-coming Fever dreams of one day winning the WNBA title. To get to the top, they’ll need to study teams like the Lynx and learn what it takes to become a title contender.
Fever value: Fever loses composure – and the game – in the third quarter and loses to Lynx 99:88
“That was the talk in our locker room among our veterans like Temi (Fagbenle) and Katie Lou (Samuelson), they definitely said that’s the standard,” Fever guard Kelsey Mitchell said. “We want to compete at the next level and be part of a playoff run, not just get there, not just be there, but make a run and make an impact.”
“We have to use this as leverage and know that (the Lynx) are the best, and to beat the best you have to compete every night. I think we’ll use the film positively and move on.”
The Lynx used a 29-12 third quarter lead to wrest control of the game from the Fever. Indiana twice cut the deficit to one point in the fourth quarter, but both times the Lynx answered with threes, first from Courtney Williams and then from Bridget Carleton. In the third quarter, Caitlin Clark, Kelsey Mitchell and Aliyah Boston scored all 12 of the Fever’s points on 3-of-12 shooting.
During Indiana’s five-game winning streak, a player outside of the Fever’s Big Three has made key plays that have impacted the game. Lexie Hull’s effort and strong rebounding regularly give the offense extra possessions. NaLyssa Smith is finding her rhythm as a weakside defender, while her few touches in the post are important. Hull had another strong all-around game, scoring eight points, nine rebounds, three assists and two steals, but foul trouble limited her ability to defend aggressively. Smith struggled to find her way on offense, finishing 1-of-7 shooting for two points. Clark, Mitchell and Boston combined for 68 of Indiana’s 88 points.
“A balanced attack is always better than a one- or two-person attack,” Hull said. “Really good teams have all opponents across the board as a threat, and we’re lucky to have that. So we just have to make sure we find the winning streak and continue to score where we score and do what works throughout the game.”
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Boston made her presence felt early, scoring eight points in the first quarter, hitting all four of her shots. The second-year player only scored 12 more points the rest of the game as the Lynx ran multiple players at her in the zone and the Fever regularly settled for long-range shots. Clark and Mitchell can shine from long-range, but Fever coach Christie Sides knows her offense works best when it plays inside out.
“We’re second or first in the league in scoring. … We’re tied with Minnesota, who aren’t very good at scoring. I think they’re at 11 or 12,” Sides said. “We have to take advantage of our opportunities. I think there were moments where we just had to come down, execute, touch the basket and then build from there.”
“We took some early shots that didn’t go our way, and then long shots ended up being long rebounds that were hard to get back in transition defense.”
