
Minnesota hosts Indiana following Mitchell's 32-point game
Associated Press
Indiana Fever (8-8, 6-5 Eastern Conference) at Minnesota Lynx (14-2, 11-1 Western Conference)
Minneapolis; Tuesday, 8 p.m. EDT
BOTTOM LINE: Indiana Fever visits the Minnesota Lynx after Kelsey Mitchell scored 32 points in the Fever's 94-86 victory against the Dallas Wings.
The Lynx have gone 8-0 at home. Minnesota is the top team in the Western Conference with 23.9 assists per game led by Courtney Williams averaging 6.0.
The Fever are 4-4 on the road. Indiana is 0-3 in games decided by less than 4 points.
Minnesota averages 9.4 made 3-pointers per game, 3.3 more made shots than the 6.1 per game Indiana allows. Indiana has shot at a 46.2% clip from the field this season, 6.1 percentage points above the 40.1% shooting opponents of Minnesota have averaged.
The Lynx and Fever meet Tuesday for the first time this season.
TOP PERFORMERS: Williams is averaging 12.9 points, six assists and 1.5 steals for the Lynx. Napheesa Collier is averaging 24.4 points, 8.5 rebounds, 3.7 assists, 1.8 steals and 1.5 blocks over the past 10 games.
Mitchell is averaging 18.9 points for the Fever. Aliyah Boston is averaging 15.4 points over the last 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Lynx: 8-2, averaging 86.0 points, 34.3 rebounds, 24.4 assists, 8.2 steals and 5.9 blocks per game while shooting 47.7% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 72.8 points per game.
Fever: 6-4, averaging 83.3 points, 32.3 rebounds, 19.5 assists, 7.5 steals and 2.4 blocks per game while shooting 46.6% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 79.8 points.
INJURIES: Lynx: None listed.
Fever: None listed.
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
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New York Times
29 minutes ago
- New York Times
Should Caitlin Clark be a WNBA All-Star Game starter? Our experts reveal their votes
For the first time in WNBA history, All-Star Weekend is coming to Indianapolis. The city is not new to hosting major sporting events, routinely hosting Final Fours and annually hosting the NFL Draft Combine, but the arrival of the WNBA All-Star Game on July 19 comes at an inflection point for the Fever, who have rocketed in popularity over the last two seasons. Advertisement All-Star starters will be announced Monday. The league will release rankings from fan votes (50 percent), player votes (25 percent) and media votes (25 percent). The four guards and six players with the best score will be starters. Caitlin Clark and Napheesa Collier were named captains because they received the most fan votes. The WNBA is expected to unveil the 12 All-Star reserves, decided by the coaches on July 6. The captains will select teams in a draft broadcast on July 8. Before all that occurs, here is how The Athletic's Ben Pickman and Sabreena Merchant voted in their official ballots due last Friday, as well as how they are thinking about some critical All-Star questions. (Picks in alphabetical order according to positions) Pickman: In terms of guards, Seattle had been more than 36 points better per 100 possessions with Diggins on the floor than off it, and she already has 44 assists this season to Ogwukime, the most of any combination. Gray leads all players in win shares and is having a career-year under first-year coach Karl Smesko. Ionescu has been more efficient on offense this season, leading New York to an 11-3 at the time my votes were due. Whether to include Caitlin Clark was the toughest guard decision. At the time ballots were due, Clark led the league in assists and was fifth among guards in scoring. She also runs one of the league's most difficult actions to stop when she initiates two-player action with Boston. (Clark has 40 assists to Boston this season, second-most of any pair in the league.) Though Clark's home/road shooting splits are stark, her highs have been among the best this season. Her availability is what has given me the most pause. Clark played only nine games at the time ballots were due because of a left quad injury. (She's now missing additional time with a left groin injury.) She already has been named a captain, so debate over her candidacy is for naught, but reasonable cases can be made for Rhyne Howard, Advertisement Arguments are valid for Paige Bueckers, Brittney Sykes and Kelsey Plum to receive this spot over Clark, too. Clark has undoubtedly been one of the best guards in the league when healthy, but considering there are other players on my ballot who had played just two games more than her at the time of voting, I was willing to look past it. Merchant: Alyssa Thomas was the toughest frontcourt omission (and might have been impossible to leave out had voting not closed before Thomas' 17-point, 15-assist game Friday). However, the frontcourt pool is incredibly deep, and she couldn't overcome the missed time. If Thomas makes the reserve roster once she has played more — she currently isn't in the top 50 in total minutes played — that will feel deserved. The disqualifying factor for Clark was her inefficiency. She's shooting below 40 percent from the field and below 30 percent on 3s. When it came down to her and McBride, it was hard to choose the player who has so many more empty possessions, especially when McBride is the superior defender on the best team in the league. Apologies also to Jackie Young, who has taken on a large burden for the Aces. Ultimately, it didn't seem fair to reward teams with losing records with multiple All-Star starters. 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Known throughout her career as one of the league's best defensive players, Sykes' offensive game has blossomed this season. She's scoring a career-high 19.6 points per game, while shooting a career-best 41.7 percent from 3. She's also recording a career-high in assists (4.8), and is getting to the free-throw line more than anyone else in the league (9.6 attempts per game). Sykes is second among guards in shot attempts from less than five feet, converting an impressive 60.6 percent on those looks, as she attacks the rim with an aggressiveness that creates scoring chances for herself and teammates. As Sabreena mentioned, Williams is another first-timer lock, but Sykes should be, too. Brittney Sykes today 🔥 • 28 points • 6 assists • 3 rebounds • 6/12 FG • 29 minutes played — Women's Hoops Network (@WomensHoops_USA) June 8, 2025 Pickman: Can I plead the fifth here and say no team is going to get more than three All-Stars? I would be surprised if New York, Seattle, Indiana and Atlanta don't get three each with the Lynx potentially also getting three if Courtney Williams is selected (more on that later). For the first few weeks of the season, an argument could be made for Liberty guard Natasha Cloud's first All-Star selection, but I think her candidacy suffered some in early-to-mid June. Merchant: In theory, the league's best teams should have the most All-Stars, but I expect all of Minnesota, New York and Phoenix to top out at two (apologies to the injured Jonquel Jones). It's the second tier of Seattle, Atlanta and Indiana that will probably all get three selections. It's a function of roster construction more than anything, as the top trio of teams simply has more depth, with fewer players putting up eye-popping stats. Merchant: Hamby has been excellent for the Sparks, and her motor powers the defense and transition offense. 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