The first quarter of this game does not in any way describe what occurred in the rest of it. This was a major battle between two teams hungry for a playoff win. The Minnesota Lynx were running away with it until the Phoenix Mercury turned things around with some huge plays. In the end, the Lynx got the home win 102-95, but it was an incredible show from both.
Minnesota Lynx dominate the first
The first minute made it look like this quarter would be a struggle between the teams, but things quickly changed. Napheesa Collier came out swinging with 11 points in just nine minutes. The Lynx were hitting shots one after the other, and there was no stopping them. On the other hand, Phoenix was missing left and right due to the suffocating Lynx defense. Courtney Williams and Collier were playing perfectly in tandem with one another, making things look easy.
It didn’t help that a lot of fouls were called on Phoenix for small things. Brittney Griner and Sophie Cunningham took the brunt of the foul calls. The team also wasn’t capable of coverage in this first. Kayla McBride and Bridget Carleton were major boosters for Minnesota. However, Natasha Cloud broke out for the Mercury, keeping them steady during the awful first quarter.
The quarter would end with the Lynx up 32-19. A lot of sloppy play from Phoenix, as well as clunky defense, caused major issues for the team. What should have been a battle between Kahleah Copper and Collier turned out to be just the Napheesa Collier show.
Lynx remains on top in the second quarter
The show continued with McBride starting the quarter with an easy two-pointer. However, this time, Cloud had an answer with a jumper of her own. This would end up being a back-and-forth, with Collier knocking one down and Cloud returning fire. However, Cunningham was still being called for a ton of fouls, and Griner just couldn’t get free in the paint thanks to double and triple teaming from the Lynx. Copper also wasn’t showing up yet with an airball in the middle of the second.
Natisha Hiedeman and Myisha Hines-Allen would put in the work this quarter with quick and smooth layups cutting through the Mercury defense. There were still a good number of slip-ups happening by Phoenix, with turnovers from Copper and silly fouls from Griner. There was a wave of foul calls hitting Minnesota’s Alana Smith as well.
The defining play of this quarter happened right at the end. A great defense from the Mercury led to a quick Diana Taurasi three. Then Copper woke up for a minute, stealing the ball and laying it in herself. However, this burst of momentum was halted. Williams air-balled, but Carleton snatched it for a fadeaway at the shot clock buzzer, making the crowd erupt. Cloud managed to hit a quick pull-up three to end the quarter, but the fadeaway helped shift a 15-6 run from Phoenix into more energy for the Lynx.
The second half battle
This second half showed off some incredible ball from both teams, but specifically from the Mercury for mounting an incredible comeback. The Mercury defense was suddenly moving faster, swarming every open three and becoming ruthless in the paint. It also helped that they were hitting shots consistently with Cloud and Taurasi taking swings. Celeste Taylor was also knocking down shots from the three, and Griner had a key block to push the team forward.
The Lynx were starting to slow down in the third. The Phoenix defense was becoming too much to handle as they had some turnovers and blocked shots throughout. The third would end 77-69, with Phoenix closing in after a shot clock buzzer-beater three from Collier was wiped away by a Cloud three to finish the quarter. The fourth started with a turnover from the Lynx and a Cloud assist to Mack to get things rolling. A three from Taurasi continued to keep the team in range after McBride hit her free throws.
For a moment in the fourth, it looked like Copper was about to come alive in the clutch, as she always does. She scored a quick one, then would get the steal on defense and come back on her own for three. Suddenly, after a few more plays, Mercury was only down by one, and soon after, they’d take a quick lead. Here, it would go back and forth, with the lead changing through the quarter.
Williams and Hines-Allen would be the saviors for the Lynx. Williams had some amazing assists to Hines-Allen to keep the team afloat. Cloud would also continue to dominate in the assist and scoring column, but she couldn’t hit in the final two minutes of the quarter. The game would end with two major fouls called on Phoenix and a three-pointer from Carleton that made the building explode.