Indiana Fever center Aliyah Boston grabs a rebound while Minnesota Lynx forward Alanna Smith defends during Sunday’s game at Target Center. Photo by Abe Booker III/Sportspage Magazine
It took 14 ties and 11 lead changes before the Indiana Fever was able to pull away from the Minnesota Lynx in the fourth quarter to win the road game 81-74 in front of a sellout crowd of 18,978 people at Target Center in their first meeting of the season on Sunday afternoon.
The first quarter featured five ties and three lead changes. It began as a battle in the paint as a “battle of the bigs” as the Fever’s 6-foot-5 center Aliyah Boston and Minnesota’s 6-foot-3 forward Alanna Smith rivaled each other during the quarter.
Smith started things off by deflecting a pass from Fever guard Caitlin Clark and running the length of the floor for an easy fast break layup. She finished with 13 points, four rebounds, and three steals in the opening quarter. Boston yielded a first quarter stat line of nine points, seven rebounds, one assist and one block. Indiana held a 20-19 lead when the first quarter came to a close.
The used a 9-0 run with five points from forward Cecilia Zandalasini, a jump shot by guard Kayla McBride and a put back layup from center Dorka Juhasz to take a 26-20 lead with 8:31 left in the half.
Fever forward Damiris Dantas answered with a layup to cut the deficit to four points, but Lynx forward Bridget Carleton’s three-pointer extended their lead back to seven points. McBride and Fever guard Kelsey Mitchell exchanged three-pointers. It was now 32-29 in favor of Minnesota with 4:43 on the clock.
Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark moves past a pick set by teammate Aliyah Boston as Minnesota Lynx guard Kayla McBride fights through the screen during Sunday’s game at Target Center. Photo by Abe Booker III/Sportspage Magazine
Alanna Smith and Boston each traded put back layups. Boston wowed the crowd by grabbing the rebound with one hand and tossing it into the basket. Clark, who had only scored two points in the opening quarter, developed a hot hand just before halftime. She scored a three-pointer to cut the Indiana deficit to two points, and then two minutes later made a layup to tie the score. It was a 38-38 tie at halftime.
Minnesota guard Courtney Williams broke the tie with a midrange jump shot, but NaLyssa Smith scored on a jump shot and then a free throw, after getting fouled by Alanna Smith, to give the Fever a one-point lead. NaLyssa Smith then scored a layup on the next possession to extend the Indiana lead to three-points. However, a three-pointer by Carleton tied the score 43-43 with 8:20 left in the quarter.
After Mitchell scored five points on back-to-back possessions on a personal 5-0, the score was 50-48 in favor of the Fever with 4:15 left on the clock. The Lynx went on the attack.
Williams tied the score with one of her signature midrange jump shots, Juhasz scored a layup, and then Zandalasini, while playing defense, fouled Clark. After the clock had stopped, Clark flailed, hitting Zandalasini in the face. Clark was called for the technical foul, which was made by McBride, though possession still remained with Indiana. When play resumed, forward Sika Kone picked off a Clark pass for the Fever’s 12th turnover of the game. The possession ended with another made three-pointer by Carleton.
Indiana Fever forward NaLyssa Smith pulls down a rebound over Minnesota Lynx center Dorka Juhasz during Sunday’s game at Target Center. Juhasz was assessed with a foul on the play. Photo by Abe Booker III/Sportspage Magazine
Williams made two free throws after getting fouled by NaLyssa Smith to give the Lynx an eight-point lead, but Dantas hit a three-pointer to cut the deficit back to five points. Carleton scored the last points of the quarter, a put back layup with 17.5 seconds left, after guard Erica Wheeler missed a driving finger roll layup. Minnesota led 60-53 at the end of the third quarter after finishing on a 12-3 run.
Indiana regrouped during the quarter break. Clark kicked off the fourth quarter with a three-pointer, but that was answered by one from Carleton. Kone was called for the defensive three seconds violation and Clark sank the free throw. Mitchell and forward Katie Lou Samuelson each scored three-pointers and the game was tied again, 63-63.
Zandalasini made two free throws after getting fouled by guard Lexie Hull, which was answered by layups from Samuelson and Clark. Indiana now led 67-65 with 6:44 remaining in the game having just capped a 14-5 run after starting the quarter with a seven point deficit.
Alanna Smith broke the run with a three-pointer to give the Lynx their final lead of the game, but it was short lived. Mitchell made a jump shot to give the Fever the lead again, and then made a put back layup on the next possession to give the visiting team a three-point lead. Zandalasini tied it up with a three-pointer with 4:26 left to go.
Mitchell missed a three-pointer for Indiana. Carleton missed on a driving reverse layup for Minnesota. Alanna Smith got called for a loose-ball foul. Hull missed a three-pointer for the Fever. Carleton turned the ball over out-of-bounds. For a minute-and-a-half it seemed that neither team was able to get the ball in the basket.
Indiana Fever forward NaLyssa Smith attempts to shoot a layup as Minnesota Lynx forward Alanna Smith defends during Sunday’s game at Target Center. Photo by Abe Booker III/Sportspage Magazine
Boston broke the tie with a cutting layup. Zandalasini missed on a step back three-pointer. Boston rebounded the ball and then scored on a layup on the other side with an assist from Samuelson. Indiana now led by four points with just over two minutes remaining.
McBride cut the Lynx deficit to a single point after hitting a three-pointer to make the score 75-74 with 1:55 left on the clock. However, it would be the closest they would come as the Fever finished out the game on a 6-0 run, all on free throws, as Minnesota missed their last four shots and had to settle for transition take fouls. The final score was 81-74 in favor of the Indiana Fever when the final horn sounded.
Indiana went 31-for-70 (44.3 percent) from the field; 8-for-29 (27.6 percent) from three-point range; and 11-for-12 (91.7 percent) from the free throw line. They committed 13 turnovers for 17 Minnesota points.
“I’m really proud of our team in the fourth quarter. We made some adjustments in the fourth and it really paid off for us,” said Fever head coach Christie Sides. “We were able to get more stops and get out and run in transition.”
Minnesota went 27-for-70 (38.6 percent) from the field; 11-for-31 (35.5 percent) from three-point range; and 9-for-10 (90.0 percent) from the charity stripe. They turned the ball over 14 times for 15 Indiana points.
Minnesota Lynx guard Courtney Williams shoots over the outstretched arms of Indiana Fever center Aliyah Boston during Sunday’s game at Target Center. Photo by Abe Booker III/Sportspage Magazine
“Really, since the Commissioner’s Cup, our offense has not been that elite. Lots of three’s in there. Lots of thirty percent level games. It’s hard to win in this league, no matter where you’re playing,” said Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve. “I think we just need to focus on winning the next game. Losing at home stings. We have to find ourselves offensively without Phee [Napheesa Collier]… Obviously it was a passionate game for both teams.”
The Fever was led by 21 points from Kelsey Mitchell. Aliyah Boston and Caitlin Clark each scored 17 points, while NaLyssa Smith pitched in 11 points. Boston led all rebounders with 16 and Clark led Indiana with six assists.
“Even when we got down and things didn’t go our way, we still found a way to win,” said Clark. “Especially in the fourth quarter, we just played really good defense. We were switching. We were communicating. You can start to tell that we are just getting more comfortable overall playing with each other.”
The Lynx were led by Alanna Smith’s 18 points. Bridget Carleton added 17 and Kayla McBride chipped in 11 for the home team. Courtney Williams and Cecilia Zandalasini each scored 10 points. Smith led the Lynx with eight rebounds while Williams dished out seven assists for Minnesota.
“I think it was more us not being assertive in what we were doing. We had our play calls in but once they covered that, it was kind of, ‘what’s next?’” said Carleton. “We need to be better, definitely, in the fourth quarter.”
The Indiana Fever (11-14) travel to Dallas to take on the Wings (5-19) at 6:30 p.m. CT on Wednesday. The Minnesota Lynx (16-8) host the Atlanta Dream (7-16) for their annual “Camp Day” game at Noon CT at Target Center. This will be the final regular season game for all four teams before the Olympic break.
