The Minnesota Lynx will get the possibility to defend their Commissioner’s Cup championship after they superior to the ultimate with Tuesday evening’s 76-62 victory over the Las Vegas Aces.
However there’s some concern about Lynx star Napheesa Collier, who left the sport early with a again harm.
The Lynx will signify the West for the second yr in a row within the WNBA’s in-season competitors between the 2 conferences after ending 5-1 in Cup play. They’ll host the July 1 ultimate in opposition to the Indiana Fever, who superior earlier Tuesday after a contentious 88-71 victory over the Connecticut Solar. The Fever had been 4-1 in Cup play, as had been the New York Liberty, however the Fever gained the tiebreaker with their head-to-head win over the Liberty on June 14.
Collier, who leads the WNBA in scoring and is the early MVP favourite, exited on the 7:57 mark of the third quarter and did not return. Coach Cheryl Reeve mentioned there was no replace after the sport.
The Lynx trailed 39-32 when Collier left, however they rallied with out her, led by Courtney Williams’ 20 factors. Minnesota additionally received 12 factors off the bench every from Natisha Hiedeman and Diamond Miller.
Williams mentioned the Lynx knew they needed to step up their efficiency with out Collier.
“As soon as Phee went out, I used to be like, ‘Every thing that feels good has received to go up,'” Williams mentioned of on the lookout for her shot. “That ain’t laborious for me. We have gotta win. So no matter that appears like, that is what I’m going to do. I do not assume I take unhealthy pictures, so if I am open, I will shoot it.”
The Lynx gained the Commissioner’s Cup trophy final yr over the New York Liberty, who hosted that sport at UBS Area as a result of their regular residence, Barclays Heart, was internet hosting the NBA draft.
Minnesota would be the host this yr as a result of the Lynx have a better season profitable share at 11-1 in comparison with the 6-5 Fever, who’ve gained twice with Caitlin Clark again after she missed 5 video games with a quad harm.
“I feel the gamers are enthusiastic about that,” Reeve mentioned of the Lynx attending to play the Cup ultimate at Goal Heart in Minneapolis. “For our followers, I feel it is thrilling. We all know our opponent in Indiana is somebody we’ve not seen but. It is nice, however we’ve got to place that within the drawer for now. Now we have different video games we have set to work by way of.”
The Lynx could have 4 regular-season video games earlier than the Cup ultimate; the Fever have 5. Minnesota and Indiana will not meet within the common season till August, once they face off twice, after which play once more as soon as in September.
The Commissioner’s Cup started in 2021 and has been gained by Seattle, Las Vegas, New York and Minnesota. This yr, the Cup schedule ran from June 1-17 with every staff taking part in the others in its convention. With growth staff Golden State’s addition this season, the West had six Cup video games and the East had 5.