Takeaways: Lynx completely fall apart in brutal loss to Mercury

Cassidy Hettesheimer, The Minnesota Star Tribune on Sep 23, 2025

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MINNEAPOLIS — Minnesota was supposed to be the second-half team, making adjustments at halftime, heating up in the clutch, and closing out games when they counted most — if the past week was anything to go by.

The Lynx did it in their first-round sweep of Golden State, and again on Sunday in Game 1 against Phoenix.

Not Tuesday.

In Game 2 of the WNBA semifinals, Phoenix rallied back from a 20-point third-quarter deficit to beat the Lynx 89-83 in overtime, and tie the best-of-five series at 1-1.

With 3.4 seconds left, Phoenix’s reserve guard Sami Whitcomb hit step-back 3-pointer to tie the game, 79-79. Napheesa Collier, who had been held to just five points in the second half, missed a jump shot as time expired.

In the five-minute overtime period, Phoenix scored the first six points until Lynx guard Courtney Williams and Collier hit back-to-back baskets to cut the score to 85-83 with 30 seconds remaining.

But a foul on Phoenix point-forward Alyssa Thomas by Alanna Smith gave the Mercury a chance to seal it from the line, and they did. Thomas sank four final free throws, putting her at 19 points, 13 assists and eight rebounds.

What it means

The Mercury steal a game on the road before heading back to Phoenix, where Games 3 and 4 will take place, Friday and Sunday. At stake? A spot in the WNBA Finals. The Lynx need to win both to avoid a winner-take-all Game 5 in Minneapolis next Tuesday.

Turning point

The Lynx led 59-39 with 5:45 to go in the third. That was before shooting cooled, and turnovers began to pile up.

With 3:32 left in the fourth quarter, Phoenix power forward Satou Sabally earned an and-one on a layup to tie the game, 70-70, racking up her team-high 24 points.

The Lynx were never able to pull away from that point onward, struggling to keep pace with Phoenix’s perimeter shooting (13 for 32), compared to their own (7 for 28).

Key stats

For a team that’s often leaned on a skilled bench, it was four of Minnesota starters doing the heavy lifting in Game 2, with Courtney Williams, Alanna Smith, Kayla McBride and Collier all in double figures, scoring 78 of Minnesota’s 83 points.

Minnesota only got two from Carleton and three points from its bench, from Jessica Shepard, who also recorded seven rebounds.

The Lynx’s MVP

As Phoenix clamped down Collier (24 points, six rebounds) in the second half, McBride tried to keep the Mercury at bay, finishing with 21 points and shooting 4 for 8 from three.

Up next

The Phoenix now hold home-court advantage, with a Game 3 (Sunday) and Game 4 (Tuesday) now guaranteed. If the teams split the pair of games in Arizona, a winner-take-all Game 5 will return to Minneapolis. The winner of this series gets the winner of other semifinal series, No. 2 Las Vegas against the No. 6 Indiana Fever.

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