Fever Shift Focus to Playoffs After Tough Loss to Lynx

A Rough Regular Season Finale

The Indiana Fever ended their regular season on a tough note, falling 86-66 to the Minnesota Lynx. The game was out of hand early, with Indiana trailing by 30 points at halftime and 36 in the third quarter. Head coach Stephanie White eventually pulled her starters to rest them for the postseason.

The loss locked the Fever into the No. 6 seed for the third consecutive year. They will travel to face the No. 3 seed Las Vegas Aces on Sunday to open the playoffs. Indiana won two out of three games against the Aces during the regular season, but they will need to quickly turn things around after dropping two of their last three games.

Injury Concerns and Cold Shooting

Adding to the disappointment, the Fever suffered two key injuries during the game. Four time All Star Aliyah Boston left the game with a lower leg injury and did not return. White later explained that Boston had a flare up in her knee and sat out the second half as a precaution. Tyasha Harris also had to be carried off the court after an awkward fall that injured her left ankle.

Indiana also struggled on the offensive end. Caitlin Clark was held to just two points on 1 for 12 shooting, marking the lowest scoring output of her WNBA career. Kelsey Mitchell saw her league record streak of 27 consecutive 20 point games end, finishing with 10 points on 3 for 12 shooting.

Looking Ahead to the Postseason

Despite the blowout, the Fever are keeping their heads up. Clark emphasized that the postseason represents a fresh start for everyone. "At this point, everybody's record is zero and zero," Clark said. "We're going into the playoffs. If we sit and sulk about what happened tonight, yeah, it sucks."

White echoed that sentiment, noting that the team must quickly move past the defeat. "It's 0-0, and we're still playing basketball, and so we flush this one," White said.

The Fever boast the top ranked offense in the league, but defense remains their biggest challenge. Indiana ranks 11th in points allowed per game, a weakness they must address before facing the high powered Aces in Las Vegas.