Lynx clinch WNBA No 1 seed despite 96-77 loss to Fever and Olivia Miles calf injury
The Minnesota Lynx secured the WNBA No 1 seed for the playoffs on Tuesday night despite losing 96-77 to the Indiana Fever and being without rookie Olivia Miles because of a left calf injury. Portland Fire’s victory over the Golden State Valkyries later that evening confirmed Minnesota would finish atop the standings ahead of the playoffs, which start on Sunday.
Miles was a late scratch for the Lynx on Tuesday with an injured left calf; coach Cheryl Reeve said she almost held Miles out the previous night against Connecticut and that the team would manage the injury “day by day” as the playoffs approach. Miles had broken Caitlin Clark’s single-season rookie scoring record on Sunday. Reeve’s comments and the decision to sit Miles were framed by the team’s desire to protect the rookie ahead of postseason play.
Indiana defeated Minnesota 96-77, with Caitlin Clark producing 27 points, nine assists and seven rebounds. Kelsey Mitchell contributed 20 points, adding to her WNBA single-season scoring record. The Fever’s offensive performance established control early and supplied the scoring balance that produced the final margin.
Indiana surged late in the first quarter with a 14-2 run to close the period, opening a 31-16 lead, and then pushed the advantage to 38-18 early in the second quarter. The Fever led by as much as 57-28 in the first half, prompting Reeve to rest most of her starters for the second half. Minnesota forward Napheesa Collier said of her team’s display: “It’s embarrassing. 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 clinched a playoff berth prior to Tuesday’s game, and the victory preserved their slim hope of moving up to the No 4 seed and securing first-round home-court advantage for at least another day. Clark said: “We’re scary when we’re clicking. 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 urged her players to aim at “ripping people’s hearts out, and taking momentum back” before the game. After the loss she addressed the wording and the intended mindset, saying: “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.” She also added that clinching home-court advantage for the playoffs did not matter to her because the Lynx are a “damn good road team.”
Minnesota will enter the postseason as the No 1 seed with home-court advantage when the playoffs begin on Sunday, and Reeve said she hoped the team would adopt the required mindset when they meet again on Thursday.