The Indiana Fever closed out the regular season with an 86-66 loss to the top-seeded Minnesota Lynx on Thursday night, a result that locks the Fever into a first-round playoff matchup against the defending champion Las Vegas Aces and MVP frontrunner A’ja Wilson.
A win over Minnesota would have set up Indiana for a matchup with the Atlanta Dream instead. The stakes were clear heading into the game, but the Fever could not carry over the momentum from earlier in the week, when they beat the Lynx at home on Tuesday and at one point handed Minnesota its largest deficit of the season.
Thursday’s rematch went the other way from the start. Minnesota built a 62-32 lead by halftime and never let up, despite playing shorthanded for a second straight game with rookie Olivia Miles out with a calf injury.
Caitlin Clark had one of the roughest nights of her career, finishing with two points on 1-of-12 shooting in 18 minutes, along with three assists and four rebounds. She was 1-for-8 at the break. Clark had entered the game needing 11 more points to become the first WNBA player to reach 900 points and 300 assists in a single season, but the Fever’s collapse and her limited minutes put that milestone out of reach for the regular season.
Indiana pulled several starters after falling behind by 30 points in the third quarter, mirroring Minnesota’s approach from Tuesday’s game, when the Lynx rested starters for most of the second half. Guard Sophie Cunningham played 16 minutes without scoring.
The night got worse for Indiana off the court. Starting center Aliyah Boston was ruled out with a right lower leg injury, and guard Ty Harris had to be carried off the floor.
There was one bright spot for the Fever. Guard Kelsey Mitchell set the WNBA’s single-season three-point record, hitting her 135th of the year to pass Rhyne Howard’s previous mark of 134. Mitchell led Indiana with 10 points, though the game ended her streak of 20-plus point performances at 27 consecutive games.
Indiana finishes the regular season at 28-15. The WNBA playoffs begin Sunday, with the Fever set to open against the Aces.
