Minnesota Lynx guard Anna Cruz attempts a steal against Indiana Fever guard Shenise Johnson during Sunday’s WNBA Finals Game 4 at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.
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The Finals will shift to the Target Center in Minneapolis on Wednesday night for Game 5, with tipoff scheduled for 8 p.m. ET. So a lot of great things happening. “We don’t want it to be done yet”.
The Fever lost the first game of their Eastern Conference semifinal against Chicago, then had to win two in a row to take the series.
“We wanted to try to keep them out of an offensive rhythm, probably much the same reason they were extending their defense against us”, said Fever head coach Stephanie White. “I really love this team”.
After Game 1 of the 2015 WNBA Finals series, Minnesota Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve reminded people that it was the first 40 minutes of a 200 minute series.
“It gives us confidence knowing that we’ve been able to win on the road all season long”, White said.
“It’s only fitting that we go to five games”.
“Whatever it takes”, the 36-year-old Catchings said. When the quarter ended, Minnesota held a 20-15 advantage with five Lynx players each having scored four points.
The difference swelled to 14 points, 58-44, following a three-pointer from Coleman, which was the biggest lead for either team throughout the Finals.
The Indiana Fever beat the Lynx 75-69 on Sunday, forcing a decisive fifth game in the series.
Forward Maya Moore, whose 3-pointer at the buzzer gave Minnesota an 80-77 victory in Game 3 on Friday night, cut the Fever’s fourth-quarter lead to 64-56 with a 3-pointer with 4:31 remaining. They hit 15 free throws in the quarter to maintain their lead. Lindsay Whalen had 16 and Seimone Augustus had 10. Fowles picked up her fourth foul with 6:40 left in the third quarter which put Fever guard Briann January on the line for two free throws. Minnesota is trying to win its third title in five seasons. Only the Houston Comets won more in a similar stretch when they took the first four WNBA championships. They beat the Atlanta Dream that year and in 2013. They’ll have a chance to win one in front of their home fans.
“It’s been a fun one to watch”, she said. “That’s the beauty of it. Be ourselves at homes”.
“We really have a few pretty good weapons on the perimeter”, Zellous said.
Shooting 25-29 from the free-throw line, committing 15 fouls, and shooting 49%, the Fever battled their way to victory. That last-second shot, if it doesn’t go [in], we go to overtime. Then, Indiana stormed into the lead in the second quarter, in no small part helped by the limited time Sylvia Fowles spent on the court. Hunched over the video, she knew what she had to accomplish coming into the elimination game.
Minnesota got out to a quick 16-11 lead behind a balanced offence.
The Minnesota Lynx look for their third WNBA championship crown, all of which have come since 2011. Johnson capped the run with two foul shots to make it 30-26.
That where the lead stood until late, when the Lynx turned Catchings’ turnover into Whalen’s layup, pulling the Lynx within 36-32 at the half.
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Natasha Howard provided a big spark on offence in the second quarter, scoring seven points. That knots the series up at 2-2, meaning Wednesday night’s game will decide who is crowned champion. A bunch of Pacers were sitting courtside for the second straight game. Never been interested in women’s basketball.
