The Minnesota Lynx, the No. 1 seed within the WNBA playoff bracket, are on the point of elimination and will probably be with out their head coach and, doubtlessly, greatest participant.
MVP runner-up Napheesa Collier went down within the waning seconds of the Lynx’s 84-76 Recreation 3 loss to the Phoenix Mercury and “in all probability has a fracture,” Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve stated. Reeve’s feedback got here throughout a rant in opposition to officers that earned her a one-game suspension from the WNBA. She is going to sit out for Recreation 4 on Sunday.
The Lynx, who misplaced within the WNBA Finals to New York Liberty final season, must regroup in the event that they need to stave off elimination of their best-of-five semifinal collection in Phoenix.
“Keep locked. We not out of it. We’re nonetheless right here. We’re nonetheless an incredible group,” Lynx guard Courtney Williams stated. “In relation to the playoffs or any recreation, you’ll be able to’t get too excessive or get too low.”
For his or her half, the remade Mercury look to advance to the WNBA Finals for the primary time since 2021. They gained their final title in 2014 with Diana Taurasi and Brittney Griner. After Taurasi retired within the offseason and Griner left for the Atlanta Dream, the Mercury retooled. They’re led by triple-double machine Alyssa Thomas.
“It is a group that believes in one another — been missed a bit of all yr,” Mercury coach Nate Tibbets stated. “However one factor we’re is hard and we battle, we compete and we did that within the fourth. We made it exhausting on each possession and that’s what good defensive groups do.”
Recreation 4 of the WNBA semifinal collection between the No. 1 seed Minnesota Lynx and No. 4 seed Phoenix Mercury is scheduled to tip off at 8 p.m. ET Sunday at PHX Enviornment in Phoenix .