Minnesota Lynx Coach Cheryl Reeve Needs to Look Closer at Team Makeup
There's no doubt that the Minnesota Lynx were looking to repeat as champions of the in-season WNBA Commissioner's Cup tournament. But the Lynx were not able to make it happen, even against a Caitlin Clark-less Indiana Fever team.
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The Fever scored a 74-59 win on Tuesday night, July 1, on their home court in Indianapolis. Forward Natasha Howard led the Fever with 16 points and 12 rebounds, sending Indiana to a very surprising upset win.
Alanna Smith led Minnesota with 15 points. Current WNBA MVP front-runner Napheesa Collier just didn't show up in the game. Courtney Williams only went 4-for-14 shooting and Kayla McBride was worse, finishing 1-for-7.
What did Reeve see out there in the game? 'We had some easy shots that didn't fall, as did they, particularly early in the game,' Reeve said, according to The Athletic. 'Then they kind of got their rhythm going, and we just sort of lost ours.'
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Minnesota coach saw that her players were not able to create opportunities in big game
Reeve had time to do a little post-game observation about her team's effort. There were some things that were on her mind.
'We have a tendency sometimes to get impatient,' Reeve said, The Athletic reported on Wednesday, July 2. 'Our commitment to move into basketball and creating advantages — we had a hard time getting that done.'
Lynx forward Jess Shepard also noticed that the team didn't have that much on-court chemistry in the defeat. 'We got exposed in some areas and we know we can't show up like we did today if we want to be in the finals at the end of the year,' Shepard said. 'Last season, they took the victory as a turning point. I think this year you can learn a lot from today.'
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Collier still is making a name for herself in WNBA circles. Even with this setback, Minnesota remains a hot team in the league. But Reeve knows that if her team is going to stay in contention, games like their Commissioner's Cup loss cannot become routine.
This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jul 2, 2025, where it first appeared.
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