The Indiana Fever have clinched a playoff spot, but their final test of the regular-season comes against the No. 1 team in the WNBA.
The Minnesota Lynx have two games to go before tipping off the playoffs as the No. 1 seed, starting with a visit to the Fever on Tuesday night in Indianapolis.
Indiana (23-20) is guaranteed at least the No. 7 spot in the playoffs and could get to No. 6 by winning its finale against Minnesota (33-9) if Golden State loses its last two games.
“We’ve accomplished a goal,” Fever coach Stephanie White said after a 94-65 victory at Washington on Sunday put her team in the postseason, “but there’s also a mindset of, ‘We have work to do.'”
Indiana has had to overcome the absence of All-Star guard Caitlin Clark for most of the season, and she won’t be returning. The Fever have also endured season-ending injuries to four other players, including Aari McDonald (9.8 points per game) and Sophie Cunningham (8.6).
“With all of the stuff that this team has been through, most teams would have folded,” White said. “We just kept getting stronger and stronger and we kept reinventing ourselves.
“These women deserve a lot of credit for their ability to stay resilient, to stay together, to stay hungry and to stay the course.”
For Minnesota, DiJonai Carrington was sidelined by a shoulder injury and Alanna Smith rested, but Natisha Hiedeman matched her career high with 24 points in a 78-72 win at Golden State on Saturday night.
“Anybody can have a hot hand on any night,” Hiedeman said, downplaying her performance and emphasizing the depth that has enabled the Lynx to stay atop the league standings.
Minnesota, which will host Golden State on Thursday night, has gone just 5-4 in the past nine games but it has two more opportunities to get sharp before the postseason begins.
“If you play defense, you give yourself a chance to win every night,” Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve said.
Reeve called her short-handed team’s victory against the Valkyries “a big-time growth night for us.”
The Fever defeated the Lynx 74-59 on July 1 to win the Commissioner’s Cup, but Minnesota has won two recent meetings — 95-90 at Indiana on Aug. 22 and 97-84 at home two days later.
–Field Level Media
