Tonight, the Minnesota Lynx faced off against the Indiana Fever at home. The Lynx ended up winning at home 90-80. It first seemed as though it would be a landslide win for Minnesota, but with the Fever turning things around, it ended up as a back-and-forth battle starting in the second quarter. Thankfully, Napheesa Collier was around to lead the Lynx to the win.
Lynx have strong first half
It took both teams almost two whole minutes before a point was scored in this one. Aliyah Boston would open the scoring for Indiana, and from there, the floodgates opened, but not for Indiana. Things were steady until Collier hit a three-pointer off the assist from Alanna Smith. This was when the Lynx started to create their separation.
The quarter would end with a 29-16 Lynx lead as the opposition was playing in a bit of a deflated way. One of the most noticeable issues was rookie Caitlin Clark missing a large number of her shots in the first, going just 1-7. In the second quarter, Clark and Kelsey Mitchell both showed up, shooting well and putting the Fever back into things.
Unfortunately for the Lynx, they started going in the opposite direction, making just five out of the 10 shots they took in the quarter. The second would end with Minnesota up by just one point. The Fever was starting to get hot, and it wasn't looking good for the third-place Lynx.
Bright spots for the Fever
Despite the loss, there were noticeable good things coming from this Indiana team. The first one would be how they battled back in the second quarter and continued to pressure the Lynx on the defensive end. Clark led in scoring with 23 points and also had eight assists. Kelsey Mitchell also came out swinging with 21 points, and Aliyah Boston was incredible on the boards, grabbing 15 rebounds.
One thing that really stuck out was how much Boston dominated Minnesota. She gave her team so many second-chance opportunities thanks to strong offensive rebounds. Another great part of this game was seeing Lauren Hull score 10 points. The young guard has had some up-and-down nights, but if the Fever wants to do damage in the playoffs, they'll need her to be a decent bench player.
Napheesa Collier and Kayla McBride right the ship
Though Indiana seemed to kick things into high gear, Minnesota was able to settle down as Collier and McBride started hitting more of their shots. Collier would go 5-6 in the second half, leading a solid string of offensive plays. McBride, on the other hand, hit some key shots that helped push the momentum toward the Lynx. Another huge momentum builder was Courtney Williams' quick jumpers and three-point makes tonight.
Collier finished the game with 31 points and five rebounds. McBride finished with 19 points and four assists. These two players are the reason the Lynx were able to fight off that second-quarter burst from Indiana. Another shout-out has to go to forward Bridget Carleton, who managed to get herself 16 points tonight. Lastly, one has to give recognition to the team stat of 27 assists. The passing in this game was smooth, leading to some easy buckets down low and some dagger corner threes.