On Saturday night, the Minnesota Lynx retired Maya Moore’s jersey, and the home team came out strong and looked headed for a blowout victory over the Indiana Fever. The Lynx jumped out to a 29-16 lead in the first quarter and went on to win 90-80.
However, a Fever team that has won seven of its last nine and is now playing for a WNBA playoff spot fought back and essentially turned the game around in the second quarter, outscoring Minnesota 28-16 to send the game into halftime down one point. Indiana came close to a 74-71 deficit in the fourth quarter, but the Lynx went on a 12-0 run from there to close out the game.
Napheesa Collier scored a season-high 31 points and grabbed five rebounds for Minnesota, her third straight game with 23 or more points. Kayla McBride followed with 19 points and four assists, while Bridget Carleton added 16 points, four rebounds, four assists and two steals. The Lynx improved to 23-8, third-best in the WNBA.
The Fever were led by Caitlin Clark, who had 20 points, five rebounds and six assists. Unfortunately, she also had seven turnovers, which added to her league-leading total of 162 (averaging 5.8 per game). Kelsey Mitchell added 18, while Aliyah Boston grabbed 12 rebounds to go along with her 10 points.
With the loss, their first since the Olympic break, Indiana fell to 13-16, but that still keeps the Fever as the seventh seed in the league, which would put them in the playoffs.
The Fever will finish their two-game road trip at the Atlanta Dream on Monday at 7:30 p.m. ET. The Lynx next play on the road at the Phoenix Mercury on Wednesday at 10 p.m. ET.